HOUSTON, Texas - Four Hornets had double figures in kills, led by sophomore Lindsay Haupt’s 16, as Sacramento State knocked off Houston, 3-0 (30-27, 30-17, 30-28), in a non-conference volleyball match Sunday evening at the Yeoman Fieldhouse.With the victory, Sacramento State (2-5) snapped a five-match losing streak and posted its first sweep of the season. The Hornets, who had not won since a season-opening 3-1 victory over Long Island, hit a season-best .247 while four Hornets hit better than .300.
With the loss, Houston dropped to 4-3 as all seven of its matches have taken place at home this year.
Haupt’s 16 kills accompanied a .423 hitting percentage (16-5-26) to go along with three blocks. Senior Natalie Melcher started the match at setter, finishing with five kills, a .444 hitting percentage (5-1-9), 43 assists, two aces, 10 digs and seven blocks. Melcher’s number of assists, aces and digs were all career highs as the Redlands, Calif., native was inserted into the lineup at setter over freshman Rose Burke.
Joining Haupt with double-figure kills for the Hornets were juniors Shannon Roland (10 kills, nine digs and two blocks) and Atlee Hubbard (10 kills, 10 digs), and senior Shannon Arts (10 kills, .304 hitting percentage). Sophomore Michelle Franz started her first match of the season and responded with five kills, a .400 hitting percentage (5-1-10) and five blocks.
Junior Kristin Lutes continued her impressive season with 24 digs in just three games, raising her team-best season average to 5.22 digs per game. Over her last three matches, the Kent, Wash., native is averaging 6.82 digs per game.
Sacramento State controlled the match throughout, as Houston’s largest lead of the night was 11-8 in the first game. The Hornets held the advantage over the Cougars in kills (56-41), hitting percentage (.247-.111), digs (72-68) and total blocks (9.5-6.0).
Houston had one player with double figures in kills (13 from Becca Sartori) and posted 41 kills with 24 errors in 153 attacks.
The Hornets return to action next week as the team hosts the third-annual Sacramento State Invitational on Friday-Saturday, Sept. 9-10. During the four-team tournament, the Hornets will play Nevada on Friday at 7:30 p.m., and Columbia (10 a.m.) and Loyola Marymount (7:30 p.m.) on Saturday.
