SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Junior Atlee Hubbard (match-high 14 kills) led a Hornet trio with double figures in kills to help Sacramento State sweep past UC Davis, 3-0 (30-25, 30-24, 30-21), in a non-conference volleyball match Wednesday evening at the Hornets Nest.With the victory, Sacramento State won its fifth in a row and 14 of the last 16 to improve to 15-7. In addition, the Hornets have won 10 matches in a row over the Aggies (dating back to 1993) and own a commanding 46-16 record in the all-time series between the two teams. With the loss, UC Davis dropped to 3-17.
Also with the victory, Sacramento State tied UC Davis, 20-20, in the Causeway Cup standings. The Causeway Cup is a competition between the two schools’ athletics departments. The next competition between the two schools will take place in women’s golf on Nov. 6-7.
Hubbard’s 14 kills accompanied a .286 hitting percentage and 13 digs as the junior recorded her 14th double-double of the season. Sophomores Michelle Franz (10 kills, .381 hitting percentage, five blocks and a career-high eight digs) and Lindsay Haupt (10 kills, .429 hitting percentage and five blocks) joined Hubbard with double-figure kills. Junior Shannon Arts added nine kills, and now has tallied at least nine kills in eight of her last nine matches.
A total of five Hornets had double figures in digs, comprised of Hubbard (13), junior Kristin Lutes (13), senior Mallory Hook (12), senior setter Natalie Melcher (11 digs, 44 assists and four blocks) and sophomore Jennifer Ferguson (nine kills, 11 digs).
Sacramento State had 19 more kills than UC Davis (55-36) and limited the Aggies to a .110 hitting percentage. The Hornets have now held 10-consecutive opponents to hitting percentage below .200.
UC Davis, which held a 25-24 lead in the first game before the Hornets closed the frame on a 6-0 run, was led by Nicole Read’s 11 kills. Libero Nichole Brown tallied 33 digs, which set a UC Davis record for most digs in a three-game match.
The Aggies also jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the second game, but the Hornets responded with a 14-7 run to take their first lead of the game at 17-16. Sacramento State never trailed again the rest of the match as the Hornets easily won the third game.
Sacramento State, which concluded its season-long four match homestand tonight, jump back into Big Sky Conference play as the team travels to Northern Arizona on Saturday, Oct. 15. The Hornets currently sit in first place in the Big Sky standings, two games ahead of both Portland State and Eastern Washington.
