This is the last time Sac State volleyball head coach Debby Colberg wants to travel to an NCAA tournament first-round game.

The problem for Colberg is not the bus ride; she would rather just win enough games during the regular season to host one of these things.

“Going to the tournament the last four years has shown us that the host team has a tremendous advantage. I’d say that 95 percent of host teams go on to the next round,” Colberg said.

Santa Clara hosted the first-round demolition of the Hornets (21-12), who fell 15-12, 15-10, 15-1 to the offensive juggernaut.

“I thought they outplayed us in every regard . . . they pass well, they have a good array of setters, you can’t key on any one little thing when you play them,” Colberg said. “I think they lead the country in every offensive category.”

Actually, Santa Clara (27-4) ended the regular season holding the top rank nationally in team kills at 19.42 per game and team assists at 17.9 per game. These statistical illustrations of offensive muscle helped build a match won-lost percentage of .867, which was good enough for a nation-wide eighth place.

In the end, Sac State was clearly overmatched, although it was close early on. The Hornets opened the match as the aggressors, jumping to a 6-2 lead in the first game. Santa Clara came racing back and reached game point at 14-8 before the Hornets struggled to push the score to 14-12. But one of Ynez Carrasco’s match-high 18 kills won the game for the Broncos.

The second game of the match was equally tense, with the lead changing hands several times. The score reached a 10-10 tie before Santa Clara took control of it, winning with the familiar sight of a Carrasco kill.

The third game of the match quickly became a 1-1 tie. Then Santa Clara poured on the pressure and seized victory from the Hornets as the Broncos served the final 14 points. The final frame was over before it began.

“We played the first two games pretty well. After that, it was a matter of finding out who would blink first, and we blinked first,” Colberg said. “We knew how to stop them, the problem was in our execution.”

Carrasco was dominant, adding 17 digs to her 18 kills. Both were match highs. Roz Pelayo, who led the match with 49 assists, joined Carrasco in victory.

Sac State’s Tasman Dwyer and Jayme Wright each recorded seven kills and freshman standout Lisa Beauchene added six kills along with 23 assists. Other Sac State notables included Sarah Chlebana and Kelly Voeltz, who contributed 10 and 12 digs, respectively.

Colberg would prefer to see the first round in Hornet Gym in the future.

In order for that to occur, Colberg said two things must happen. First, Sac State must put in a bid to host the first two rounds, which they have not yet done despite qualifying the last four years. Second, the team would vastly improve its chance to host if it was ranked among the top 16 teams at the end of the season.

“A lot of the decision to choose a host school is based on the seedings. If it’s a choice between a top 25 school and a top 16 school, the school with the better seeding is going to get the vote, as long as their bid sheet is otherwise clean,” Colberg said.

The last four years of tournament play, and subsequent early round losses have taught the coach as well as her players. Colberg said that she would most likely adopt a different philosophy for next year with hopes for a national rank at season’s end and an extended trip to the playoffs.

“We are pointing to something different and the question now is how are we going to help ourselves get where we want to get to,” Colberg said. “Just making the playoffs is not enough now. We need to try and hit the road early next fall and really concentrate on winning those early matches. And we need to put in a bid to host some tournament games.”