With the loss, Sacramento State’s season ends with a 23-12 overall record and a loss to Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the second-consecutive season. The Hornets, who won their seventh-consecutive Big Sky Conference title this season, have advanced to the NCAA Tournament six times in the last seven years. Stanford, who has won five national championships over the last years, improved to 24-6.

The Cardinal will face Pacific in the second round of the NCAA Tournament tomorrow (Friday, Dec. 5) at 7 p.m. at Maples Pavilion. Pacific defeated San Francisco, 3-0, earlier tonight to advance to the second round.

Stanford won an epic first game in which Sacramento State had three game points and the Cardinal had six game points. The Hornets looked like they would come away with the first game after taking a 28-26 lead, but a Sacramento State service error and consecutive aces by Sara Dukes gave Stanford a 29-28 lead.

The two teams would trade points until a Hornet attack error ended the game at 39-37. Sacramento State was blocked twice with the opportunity to win the game, including a combination block by Jennifer Hucke and Jennifer Harvey to tie the game at 37-37. The Hornets hit .273 in the game, but had six costly service errors, including one with the score tied, 31-31. The game featured an amazing 22 tie scores and nine lead changes.

Much like the first game, the second frame went back and back forth with Stanford taking its largest lead of five points at 21-16. The Hornets clawed back to within one point of the Stanford lead (29-28) before a Richards kill ended things at 30-28. The Hornets, who had their last lead of the game at 6-5, hit .180 in the frame. Sacramento State had tied the game at 26-26 before a Nnamani kill and a questionable Hornet back-row attack call gave the Cardinal a 28-26 lead.

With the match tied, 16-16, in the third game, Stanford went on a 9-3 run to pull away. The team never trailed by less than five for the remainder of the match. In the game, Stanford hit .214 while holding the Hornets to .128.

Junior Sandra Bandimere led Sacramento State with 17 kills in the match while senior Kazmiera Imrie and freshman Jennifer Ferguson added 11 and 10, respectively. Ferguson and freshman Kristin Lutes paced the team with 14 digs, and senior Lisa Beauchene led the squad with 47 assists and six blocks. Sophomore Shannon Arts finished with six kills and five blocks.

As a team, the Hornets ended the night hitting .197 (58-28-152). The team also had seven blocks, 60 digs and a season-worst 13 service errors. Conversely, Stanford hit .230 (50-19-135) with 59 digs, 11 blocks and six service aces.

Harvey finished with 10 kills and a match-high nine blocks for Stanford.

The first game was the highest-scoring game for Sacramento State since the NCAA went to the 30-point scoring system in 2001. Stanford and Sacramento State played to a 38-36 game-three Cardinal victory during the 2001 regular season. The Hornets scored more combined points midway through the second game than they scored during the entire NCAA Tournament first-round loss against Stanford last season (47).

Sacramento State seniors Lisa Beauchene and Kazmiera Imrie saw their impressive Hornet careers come to an end with the loss. Beauchene, who was this year’s Big Sky Conference and tournament MVP, was also a three-time unanimous first team all-Big Sky selection, a nine-time Big Sky Player of the Week award winner and a nine-time all-tournament selection. Imrie was a three-time Big Sky all-conference and all-academic selection, and will leave Sacramento State ranked fifth in the program record books in blocks, seventh in solo blocks and hitting percentage, and ninth in kills.

Sacramento State will return 11 players next season, including second team all-Big Sky outside hitter Bandimere and Big Sky Libero of the Year Lutes.