VOLLEYBALL BEATS SEATTLE IN FINAL NON-CONFERENCE MATCH OF THE YEAR

10/21/2011

Despite an ailing knee, Maddison Thivierge posted a career-best nine blocks in the Hornets' win

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento State’s Janelle Currey had a team-high 14 kills and Maddison Thivierge added a career-best nine blocks to lead the Hornets to a 3-1 victory (25-13, 20-25, 25-19, 26-24) over Seattle in a non-conference volleyball match Friday evening at Colberg Court.

With the victory, Sacramento State, which was playing its final non-conference match of the season, improved to 13-10 overall. The Hornets have won eight of their last nine matches overall, including four straight at home. In fact, the team has outscored its opposition by a 12-1 margin in sets during that home winning streak. Sacramento State is now three wins above the .500 mark, the highest since the team was 15-11 during the 2009 season.

The Hornets and Seattle (4-16) were playing one another for the first time ever. Sacramento State (6-2 in the Big Sky) will now turn its attention back to Big Sky Conference play as the team currently sits in second place, a half game behind Northern Colorado (7-2), with just eight league matches remaining on the schedule. The Hornets begin the second half of the conference year next week with road contests at Northern Colorado (Oct. 27) and Northern Arizona (Oct. 29).

Besides the victory, another highlight of the evening was Currey becoming the 11th Hornet since 1985 to reach the 1,000 kill, 1,000 dig plateau. For her career, the junior from Rocklin now has 1,007 kills and 1,166 digs, and became one of just four players in school history to reach the plateau before her senior season (joining Jill Haas, Carissa Buie and Nicole Harty).

Currey’s 14 kills certainly helped, but it was a Sacramento State defensive effort that put up a season-best 19.0 team blocks that ultimately defeated the Redhawks. The 19.0 team blocks are tied for the 11th best mark in school history as four different Sacramento State players had at least five blocks. That included Thivierge who gutted out a knee injury that forced her to miss both matches last week. The fifth-year senior had nine stuffs, including a huge combo block with Jessie Genger that gave the Hornets a 24-22 lead in the fourth set. Sacramento State would eventually receive back-to-back kills from Genger and Currey at 24-24 to pull out the fourth set and win the match.

Joining the block party for Sacramento State was Currey (five blocks, two solos), setter Anna Schoener (season-high six blocks) and Kelsey Elston (six blocks, three solos). Seattle was limited to just a .080 hitting percentage, the fifth time in the last eight matches the Hornets have limited an opponent to a sub .100 percentage.

Currey also had 14 digs to go along with her 14 kills and five blocks. Senior Eryn Kirby tallied double figures in kills as she finished with 13 kills and 15 digs. Libero Breanne Menees led all players with 20 digs. Elston (3) and Menees (3) combined for six of the Hornets’ nine aces, and the Hornets had three players with at least eight assists comprised of Schoener (16), Katie Aprile (14) and Hannah Hettinga (8).

Seattle, which had only one player hit better than .116, was led by Cristin Richards’ match-high 18 kills.

The Hornets will host their annual Alumni Match tomorrow on Colberg Court at noon. For more information, read below.

ALUMNI MATCH

Former Hornet head coach Debby Colberg and assistant Weidi Zhang will roam the Hornets Nest sidelines tomorrow at noon for the annual Sacramento State volleyball alumni match. Admission is free for any fan wishing to attend.

Colberg will guide an alumni lineup of 12 players that combined to accumulate 13 all-conference awards and 43 Big Sky championships during their careers. Among those players include outside hitters Sandra Bandimere, Angela Lewis, Atlee Hubbard, Kelly Voeltz and current Hornet assistant coach Sarah Chlebana, middle blockers Tasman Dwyer and Rebekah Capel, rightside hitter Leah Klemenhagen, defensive specialists Mallory Hook and Zara Budenbender (Boyle), and setters Stephanie Gamst and Kristi Deter (Lambert).

Volta will guide the current version of the Hornets against the alumni squad.