Sacramento State?s volleyball team continued its mastery over Big Sky opponents, as it defeated the No. 5 seeded Montana State University Bobcats, 30-25, 30-25, and 30-23, in the semifinal round of the conference tournament Friday at Hornet Gym.

The Hornet win sets up a third meeting this season against Eastern Washington University, which upset No. 2 seeded Northern Arizona University in a five-game thriller to advance to the championship and the right to move on the NCAA tournament. The Hornets earned a first-round bye while Montana State defeated Weber State University, 3-1, in the opening round.

The match between Sac State and Montana State was closer than the final score indicated. Friday evening, neither team could muster more than a five-point lead before the other fought back to tie the score. Games one and two could have gone either way, as both teams pounded the net and dug shot after amazing shot. Both teams showed what post season volleyball is all about: tough points and long rallies.

“It came down to who was going to be the team to blink first, the team to make that first mistake,” head coach Debby Colberg said. “We went back and forth, back and forth. It was very nerve wracking but that’s playoff volleyball. Nothing is easy, and nothing will be easy.”

Colberg admitted she was very nervous coming into the contest knowing that Montana State had the best shot at defeating the Hornets.

“They match up very well with us and they are a mirror image of us. I was just hoping we could hold (Falin) Schaefer and Anne Watts down as much as possible. They are their big hitters.”

Sac State did just that, as Watts ended the contest with a .143 hitting percentage and nine kills with Schaefer adding only eight kills and a .080 hitting percentage. The Hornets were led by sophomore Kazmiera Imrie, 15 kills and a .444 hitting percentage, senior Tasman Dwyer, 14 kills (385) and junior Jayme Wright, 13 kills (.323) and six digs.

Game two served to be the most critical game with the score tied at 21-21 at one point. If Montana State was to get back into the match, this was the game the Bobcats had to have. Montana State was in excellent position, hitting at their highest percentage, .263, and holding a lead most of the game.

But it didn’t happen the way the Bobcats planned.

The Hornets went on a late 7-0 run to create some distance from the Bobcats, then cruised home to a 30-25 win.

“That was huge, to say the least,” Imrie said.”Our passing on serve return was the key to that game. We struggled with it at the beginning of that game, but as we got better we had the big run.”

Colberg was impressed with every game. She feels that her team is finally hitting it’s peak.

“We played well everywhere tonight ? except maybe serving,” Colberg said laughing.”Really, we were very balanced. We played good, solid defense, got our serve going and passed the ball exceptionally well. The most important thing was finding a way to win in a close match.”

The Hornets are expecting nothing but more closely contested matches as they go deeper into the postseason. Imrie says they will be ready.

“We have nothing to lose now. It’s win or go home. We are not ready to go home,” she said.