Lisa Beauchene - Tournament MVP |
CHENEY, Wash. – Four Hornets recorded double figures in kills, led by sophomore Sandra Bandimere’s team-high 17, as Sacramento State defeated 15th-ranked Eastern Washington, 3-1 (30-25, 30-26, 26-30, 30-27), in the Big Sky Volleyball Tournament championship match Saturday evening at Reese Court.With the victory, Sacramento State receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament while improving its record to 24-10. The Hornets will have now reached the NCAA Tournament five of the last six years (1997-2000). Sacramento State will find out its first-round opponent and the location of the match when the NCAA announces the tournament pairings on Sunday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m.
Sacramento State improved its record in Big Sky Tournament championship matches to 4-2, as the team has defeated Eastern Washington on three of those occasions (1998, 2000). The Hornets entered the Big Sky Tournament as the No. 2 seed for the first time in six years, but still prevailed over No. 1-seed and tournament-host Eastern Washington (29-2). The Hornets, who lost on the road to EWU, 3-0, a week ago, had entered the match losing four of their last five meetings against the Eagles in Cheney, Wash.
Sacramento State senior Jayme Wright, Bandimere and junior Lisa Beauchene were each named to the all-tournament team while Beauchene was named the tournament MVP.
Beauchene recorded her second triple-double of the tournament (13 kills, 44 assists, 14 digs and a .600 hitting percentage) while junior Kazmiera Imrie (12 kills and a .407 hitting percentage), Wright (14 kills), sophomore Emily Wilson (nine kills and six blocks) and freshman Shannon Arts (match-high eight blocks) also chipped in. Bandimere and Wright both finished with double-doubles as they finished with 10 and 11 digs, respectively. Freshman Mallory Hook led the Hornets with 18 digs.
Eastern Washington was led by Janelle Ruen’s 19 kills and 27 digs while Monica Lynch (13 kills) and Megan Kitterman (10 kills) also had double figures in kills.
In game one, Sacramento State used an 11-4 run to open up a 19-13 lead. The Hornets would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way as Eastern Washington could only close to within three points (27-24). Bandimere led all players with six kills while Wright and Imrie each tallied five. The Hornets hit .286 and recorded five blocks, including three by Wilson.
No team held a lead larger than five points as game two was close throughout. Sacramento State used a 6-3 run to take a 14-11 lead and never trailed the rest of the way. Eastern Washington closed to within one (16-15), but could get no closer. Sacramento State recorded 21 kills while hitting .294. Conversely, the Eagles hit just .133 and totalled 13 kills. Bandimere again led all players with six kills while Wright tallied five.
In the third game, Eastern Washington never trailed as the Eagles jumped out to a 13-5 lead. Sacramento State pushed its way back into the game with a late 8-1 run to close to within one at 26-25. From there, the Eagles tallied four of the frame’s final five points as Ruen had three of her game-high 10 kills during the 4-1 run to close the game. EWU hit .341 with 23 kills while the Hornets had just 13 kills.
In the fourth and final game, the Hornets used a 5-0 run to take a 12-9 lead and never trailed the rest of the way. With the Hornets leading, 28-27, two-straight Eagle hitting errors ended the game and the match.
The NCAA Tournament selection show (Dec. 1 at 6 p.m.) will be aired on ESPN News, which can be found on DirecTV on channel 207 or via the Dish Network on channel 142.
