SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Junior Atlee Hubbard had a match-high 13 kills and junior Kristin Lutes led all players with 18 digs to help Sacramento State to a three-game sweep (30-23, 30-12, 30-14) of Bucknell in a non-conference volleyball match Sunday afternoon at the Hornets Nest.With the victory, the Hornets have now won four in a row and 13 of their last 15 to improve to 14-7 this season. Sacramento State has swept three of its last four opponents, and concludes its season-long four match homestand on Wednesday, Oct. 12, against UC Davis at 7 p.m. In addition, the Hornets have not lost at home since Aug. 30 and improved to 7-1 in the friendly confines.
The match against Bucknell marked the first time the two teams have ever faced each other. The Bison (12-7), who hail from Lewisburg, Pa., had won five of their last six prior to today’s loss.
Sacramento State hit a season-best .346 as sophomores Lindsay Haupt (eight kills, .500 hitting percentage) and Michelle Franz (seven kills, .500), freshman Rose Burke (two kills, .500), junior Leah Klemenhagen (six kills, .417) and Hubbard (13 kills, 12 digs, season-high .343) all hit better than .340 for the Hornets. In fact, Sacramento State committed just seven attack errors during the entire match in 104 total attempts (43-7-104).
Haupt hit exactly .500 in all three of Sacramento State’s matches this week, including 10 kills against Weber State, 10 more against Idaho State and eight against Bucknell. Hubbard picked up her team-best 13th double-double (kills and digs) of the season, and Lutes continued a pace which has seen the libero record at least 11 digs in every match this season.
After the Hornets’ Natalie Melcher played the first game at setter, Burke played the final two games at the position, and responded with two kills, 26 assists, two aces, four digs and two blocks.
The Hornets limited Bucknell to a .062 hitting percentage, the second-lowest performance by a Sacramento State opponent this season. Bucknell’s Jenna Henderson led the team with nine kills and 13 digs, while Chelsea Anderson tallied 14 digs.
Sacramento State dominated the match statistically, leading Bucknell in kills (43-32), hitting percentage (.346-.062), aces (9-4), digs (53-47) and team blocks (6.0-2.0).
After Wednesday’s match against UC Davis, the Hornets jump back into Big Sky play with a contest on the road at Northern Arizona on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. Sacramento State is currently sitting atop the Big Sky standings with a 5-1 record.
