SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco’s Brittanie Budinger had a match-best 22 kills and 22 digs to lead San Francisco to a 3-2 (27-30, 30-28, 20-30, 30-21, 15-7) victory over Sacramento State in a non-conference volleyball match Tuesday evening at War Memorial Gym.The Hornets are now 0-4 in five-game matches this season and have been outscored in the fifth game, 60-38. With the loss, Sacramento State dropped to 15-9 overall, but has still won 10 of its last 13 contests. San Francisco, which is currently receiving votes in the USA Today/AVCA top 25 poll, improved to 18-4. The Dons beat the Hornets for just the second time in the last 13 meetings between the two teams.
Five Dons tallied at least 14 kills as the team hit .287 and recorded 26 more kills than the Hornets (88-62). Besides Budinger, Teresa Russell (19 kills, nine digs and four blocks), Theresa Hart (17 kills, 15 digs), Caroline Skacel (14 kills, 12 digs) and Liz Macausland (14 kills) all reached double-figure kills. Hart hit a team-high .387, committing just five errors in 31 total attacks.
Sacramento State had 13 team blocks, including a match-high six blocks from senior Lisa Beauchene, but hit .228 as a team and had 15 less digs (86-71) than the Dons.
With the score tied at 4-4 in the fifth game, San Francisco went on a 7-1 run to take a commanding 11-5 lead and put the game away. The Dons tallied three service aces during the run, including a pair from Macausland.
Sacramento State senior co-captain Kazmiera Imrie had 15 kills and a match-high .481 hitting percentage (15-2-27), and junior Sandra Bandimere had a team-best 17 kills. Beauchene finished with eight kills, 52 assists, a team-high 16 digs, a career-high tying four service aces and six blocks. Junior Emily Wilson chipped in eight kills, five blocks and a season-high five aces as the Hornets finished with 10 aces as a team.
Wilson’s five aces were the most by a Hornet since she tallied six at the last season’s Big Sky Conference Tournament.
Every active Sacramento State player appeared in tonight’s match as freshman libero Kristin Lutes had 11 digs, improving her season total of double-figure dig matches to 21. Sophomore Shannon Arts had nine kills and a .316 hitting percentage. The Valdez, Alaska, native has combined for 24 kills and a .422 hitting percentage over her last three matches.
Sacramento State returns to action this Saturday, Oct. 25, as the team travels to Flagstaff, Ariz., to take on the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona. The Hornets have just eight matches left on their regular-season schedule (one non-conference contest and seven Big Sky matches).
