VOLLEYBALL WINS FOURTH STRAIGHT, KNOCKS OFF SAN JOSE STATE

10/4/2011

Sophomore Kayla Beal led all players with 15 kills as the Hornets defeated San Jose State in four sets

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sophomore Kayla Beal posted a match-high 15 kills while adding a .500 hitting percentage to lead Sacramento State to a 3-1 victory (25-22, 25-17, 18-25, 25-17) over San Jose State in a non-conference volleyball match Tuesday evening at Spartan Gym.

The Hornets (9-9), who were playing the first of just two remaining non-conference matches on the schedule, have now won four straight matches. The winning streak is the longest since the team won four straight from Oct. 1-9 of last season. What makes the winning streak even more impressive is three of those wins have come on the road. In fact, the three-match road winning streak is the longest since the 2009 season.

With the loss, San Jose State dropped to 6-11 this season. The Hornets have now won three straight and eight of the last 10 meetings between the two teams.

Sacramento State hit .252 as a team with 53 kills and just 16 errors in 147 attacks. The Hornets tallied eight aces - including a season-best five from libero Breanne Menees - while also registering 63 digs and nine team blocks.

Despite leaving yesterday’s practice early because of flu-like symptoms, Beal was unstoppable in tonight’s match, as the 15 kills were her third highest output of the season. She had just two errors in 26 attacks while also adding three blocks.

Beal wasn’t the only Hornet under the weather as Kelsey Elston and Maddison Thivierge missed yesterday’s practice with the flu. Still, both players played well despite the lingering effects of illness as Thivierge led all players with five blocks and Elston had four kills and a .333 hitting percentage.

Joining Beal with double-figure kills for the Hornets were outside hitters Eryn Kirby (12 kills, eight digs and a .281 hitting percentage) and Janelle Currey (11 kills, 11 digs). Anna Schoener and Jessie Genger each added three kills, and Genger registered her first two service aces of the season.

Not only did Menees have five aces, she also had 29 digs, which were 10 more than any other player on the floor. During the winning streak, Menees has collected 103 digs, good for a lofty average of 6.44 digs per set.

San Jose State was led by Savanah Leaf’s 13 kills and 19 digs while Alex Akana added 11 kills and a .375 hitting percentage.

The Hornets will now jump back into conference play this week when the team hosts Portland State (Friday at 7 p.m.) and Eastern Washington (Saturday at 7 p.m.). Sacramento State has won three straight conference matches and currently sits in third place in the Big Sky standings with a 3-1 league mark.