VOLLEYBALL WINS 10TH IN A ROW WITH SWEEP AT MONTANA
10/5/2007
MISSOULA, Mont. -- Senior Missie Stidham had a match-high 19 kills and senior Lindsay Haupt added 14 kills and a match-best .478 hitting percentage to lead Sacramento State to a three-game sweep of Montana (30-21, 30-20, 30-22) in a Big Sky Conference volleyball match Friday evening at West Auxiliary Gym.
With the victory, Sacramento State won its 10th in a row and improved to 16-3 overall and 5-0 in the Big Sky. The 10-match winning streak is the program’s third longest in the last eight years. The Hornets have swept each of their last six opponents, including all five Big Sky opponents this season. Currently just four votes shy of cracking into the CSTV/AVCA top 25 poll, Sacramento State has not lost since Sept. 7 and improved to 12-2 away from home.
The 16-3 record is the team’s best mark after 19 matches since the 1995 squad had a 17-2 record. Of the Hornets’ 16 victories, 15 have come in either three or four games, including 10 three-game sweeps. No Big Sky team has scored more than 26 points in a game against the Hornets.
Tonight’s game also gave Sacramento State its 16th straight win over Montana, with the team’s last loss to the Grizzlies coming in 1999. The loss dropped Montana to 6-10 overall and 2-4 in the Big Sky.
The Grizzlies’ last victory over the Hornets came in Sacramento in 1999, which also marks the last time Sacramento State has lost a regular-season home match to a Big Sky opponent.
Stidham’s 19 kills came with nine digs and a .432 hitting percentage as the outside hitter had just three errors in 37 attacks. She fell one dig shy of recording her 18th straight double-double. Haupt continued a torrid pace that has seen the fourth-year senior hit a ridiculous .504 (68-9-117) against Big Sky competition. Her 14 kills accompanied just three errors in 23 attacks, and she also added a match-high six blocks.
Joining Stidham and Haupt with at least eight kills for the Hornets were seniors Michelle Franz (nine kills, .389 hitting percentage) and Jennifer Ferguson (eight kills, 10 digs). Sophomore Desiree Hoyum had five kills, a .308 hitting percentage and two blocks, and freshman libero Chelsea Goodsell added a team-best 13 digs.
Sacramento State tallied a .336 hitting percentage, marking the third straight and seventh time in the last nine matches the team has hit better than .300. The Hornets also limited Montana to a .161 hitting percentage, while tallying eight aces, 54 digs and 8.0 team blocks. The Grizzlies’ latest lead in any game was a 12-11 lead in the second game.
No Montana player had more than eight kills. Jackie White led everybody with 19 digs for the Grizzlies.
Sacramento State concludes its four-match road trip tomorrow night against Montana State at 6:05 p.m. PDT. After tomorrow night’s match, the Hornets will play four straight at home, beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 9, against non-conference rival Santa Clara at 7 p.m.
MISSOULA, Mont. -- Senior 
