Despite a gallant effort, the Sac State Hornets were defeated three games to one by number 21 ranked Santa Clara.

The tension could have been cut with a knife at Hornet Gym. All two hours and 40 minutes were a complete battle between the Hornets and the Broncos. This was the first time this season that the Hornets went over three games in a match, and it was the longest match this season as well.

The first two games were come from behind victories for the Broncos. In game one, they bounced back from trailing 9-7. Game two was more of a struggle, but the Broncos pulled it our from a 14-12 deficit.

Game three continued to be a point to point struggle, but this time the Hornets were the victors. Contributing to the win was captain Sarah Chlebana. Chlebana had 22 kills and 10 digs by game three. Junior Tasman Dwyer was also a major component to game three’s success, adding 19 kills and four digs to her stats through that point.

The suspense built with every serve in game four. The teams went back and forth matching point for point until the Broncos took the lead 14-13. After control switched sides numerous times, the Broncos finished the match, defeating the Hornets 15-13.

Head coach Debby Colberg, and team captain Chlebana felt that a slow start and serving problems were reasons for their loss. Although this was a loss, the Hornets have greatly improved, and look at the positives of their match.

“We did a lot of nice things,” Colberg said. “We improved our blocking.”

Chlebana is confident about her team going into Friday’s match against Northern Arizona. But, she feels that the team needs some fine tuning and to work on the little things to be successful.

Colberg summed the match best when she said, they didn’t give up. The volleyball team plays at home again on Friday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.