Freshman Mallory Hook |
CHENEY, Wash. – Three Eagles recorded double digits in kills and Sacramento State was limited to a .131 hitting percentage as 15th-ranked Eastern Washington defeated Sacramento State, 3-0 (30-17, 30-23, 30-27), in a Big Sky Conference first-place volleyball showdown Friday evening at Reese Court.With the victory, Eastern Washington clinches the Big Sky regular season championship and will host the conference tournament next Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 21-23. The Eagles (27-1, 12-1 Big Sky), who will host the tournament for the first time since 1989, receive the No. 1 seed in the tournament and receive a first-round bye.
Sacramento State, which dropped to 21-10 overall and 10-3 in the conference, will not serve as the Big Sky Tournament host institution for the first time since 1996. The Hornets had won each of the last five regular-season conference championships as their inaugural season in the Big Sky (1996) marked the only time the team hadn’t hosted the tournament.
The Hornets can secure the No. 2 seed in the tournament and a first-round bye in they beat Portland State tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 16) in the final regular-season match of the season. Montana State, which defeated Montana tonight in five games, concluded the season with a 10-4 conference record. The Bobcats own the tiebreaker over the Hornets, making it necessary for Sacramento State to win tomorrow night’s match to gain the No. 2 seed. The top six teams in the conference advance to the single-elimination Big Sky Tournament with the first and second-place teams receiving first round byes.
The loss snapped Sacramento State’s four-match winning streak as the team hadn’t lost since Oct. 29. The Hornets dropped to 6-6 overall on the road and 3-3 against conference competition.
Eastern Washington’s Janelle Ruen led all players with 16 kills and 18 digs, while Monica Lynch (11 kills) and Megan Kitterman (11 kills) also contributed to the Eagles’ victory. Eastern Washington led the Hornets in virtually every statistical category including kills (56-40), hitting percentage (.293-.131), assists (48-32) and digs (66-53). The Eagles’ .293 hitting percentage came with just 15 attack errors in 140 total attempts.
Sacramento State was led by sophomore Sandra Bandimere’s 14 kills and .333 hitting percentage (14-4-30). Senior Jayme Wright finished with nine kills and 11 digs while sophomore Emily Wilson led all players with five blocks. No other Hornets finished with more than five kills as Bandimere and freshman Shannon Arts (three kills, .500 hitting percentage) were the only Sacramento State players to hit better than .250.
The Hornets hit .065, .167 and .157, respectively, in games one through three while committing seven service errors. Sacramento State is now 3-4 in Cheney, Wash., since joining the Big Sky.
Sacramento State has history on its side tomorrow night as the team has defeated Portland State 18-consecutive times and has not lost to the Vikings since 1998. The Hornets defeated Portland State, 3-1, earlier this season in Hornet Gym.
