Hornets drop consecutive matches in Nevada
Image: Hornets drop consecutive matches in Nevada:Sophomre middle hitter Emily Wilson sets to serve the ball. Photo by Barret LyonState Hornet:
September 14, 2002
Last week was one of ups and downs for the Sacramento State women’s volleyball team, as they went 1-2 and had their seven- match win streak snapped.
Sac State began the week by defeating Butler University at Hornet Gym on Thursday for their seventh straight win. The victory was short-lived though, as they then went to Nevada to participate in the Nevada Invitational Tournament and lost both matches.
The Hornets beat Butler 30-18, 30-25, and 30-25, in what head coach Debby Colberg called, “an ugly win.”
Sac State held Butler to a .088 hitting percentage in the first game, but in the second and third games, Butler posted a .273 and a .286 respectively.
“After the first game, [Butler] started hitting the ball with less force. They were just kind of tapping it around,” Colberg said. “They changed the pace of the match, and we weren’t ready for that.”
Despite Butler’s increased intensity, Sac State did not trail until the third game when Butler jumped out to a 17-13 lead. Sophomore outside hitter Sandra Bandimere had a career high 15 kills. Junior middle hitter Kazmiera Imrie finished with 12 kills and four blocks.
Senior outside hitter Jayme Wright had 13 kills and 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the season and junior setter Lisa Beauchene chipped in 40 assists.
Although they were not happy with their performance, Wright said that winning was the top priority.
“We have to work on maintaining our focus and not letting up,” Wright said. “I wish we could have given the fans a better show, but we got the job done.”
Unfortunately, the lack of focus that Sac State showed against Butler came back to haunt them when they faced the University of Nevada on Friday.
The Hornets fell 3-0 to Nevada, snapping their seven match win streak and bringing their season record to 7-2.
Sac State was held to a season-low .082 hitting percentage and was dominated in several statistical categories.
Wright led the Hornets with nine kills and nine digs.
Imrie, as well as senior outside hitter Loretta Coffman and sophomore middle hitter Emily Watson contributed five kills each.
The slump continued on Saturday as Sac State took on California State University, Northridge and lost a tough five-game match. The loss to Northridge was just the second for the Hornets in their last 10 meetings.
Again, poor hitting plagued the Hornets, who hit just .180 for the match and although Northridge finished with an even lower .175 mark, Sac State hit -.077 in the fifth and final game, while Northridge hit .500.
Bandimere, Coffman, Imrie and Beauchene all finished with double-digit kills for the Hornets.
Wright and junior defensive specialist, Olivia Thomas each had 15 kills.
Despite the two losses in a row, Colberg says it’s too soon to hit the panic button.
“I thought we were the better team in those matches. We’re not playing subpar,” Colberg said. “It’s a bunch of little things. The unforced errors, the lack of mental focus. These are the things we need to work on. Right now, we’re finding out about ourselves as a team.”
Sac State will play their next games at the Fresno State Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
