After an early setback, the Sacramento State women?s volleyball team rebounded to finish 3-1 at the Sam Houston State Invitational Tournament in Huntsville, Texas last weekend.

The lone loss came in the first match of the tournament against the eventual champion, the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Sac State head coach, Debby Colberg, admits that her team did not play well in that match.

“We played poorly in that first match. We were dealing with some nerves,” Colberg said. “I?m not sure why, but it seems to happen every year.”

Illinois-Chicago swept the Hornets 3-0, winning 30-26, 31-29 and 30-24. Junior middle hitter Kazmiera Imrie was one of the lone bright spots for the Hornets in that game, recording 11 kills and a match-high .429 hitting percentage.

“Kaz played well during the whole tournament,” Colberg said. “She just didn?t have a supporting cast around her in the first game.”

Senior outside hitter Jayme Wright chipped in 13 kills and 12 digs, but had 10 errors and a .055 hitting percentage. Senior setter Lisa Beauchene had 29 assists, nine digs and seven kills.

Luckily, the nerves that plagued the Hornets in the first match did not carry over in the rest of the tournament. Sac State came back later on the first day to roll over the University of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 30-16, 30-13 and 30-17. Texas A&M was held to a mere .017 hitting percentage.

“We definitely settled down and played well after we got over the nerves. Plus, we got a chance to scout the other three teams we played, whereas in the first match, we came in cold,” Colberg said.

Once again, Imrie led the way for the Hornets tallying 13 kills to go along with two service aces and a .440 hitting percentage.

In the second start of her career, sophomore outside hitter Sandra Bandimere has seven kills and a .353 hitting percentage. Beauchene contributed five kills, 25 assists and 11 digs. Wright also picked up her game, unleashing six kills and 16 digs.

On the second day of the tournament, Sac State continued their winning ways. First, they swept past Birmingham-Southern College 30-23, 30-16, and 30-15. Wright, Bandimere, Imrie and senior outside hitter Loretta Coffman each had double figures in kills.

Wright and Bandimere also had double figures in digs and Beauchene elevated her assist numbers again, dishing out 43.

“Lisa really directed the offense better after that first match. I was happy with the way Loretta and Sandra played as well,” Colberg said.

In the final match of the tournament, Sac State trampled host Sam Houston State University, winning 30-17, 30-17 and 30-19.

Wright, Beauchene, and Coffman once again had solid games. Beauchene was named the tournament MVP, and Wright was named to the all-tournament team. Unfortunately, by virtue of their loss to UIC, the Hornets took second place in a tournament Colberg believes they should have won.

“It?s just a shame we had to play [Illinois-Chicago] first, because I believe we were the best team out there at the end of the tournament. This is definitely a missed opportunity,” Colberg said.

Although they did not win, Colberg says the tournament was a benefit for her team.

“It was a good tournament for us to start off with. The goal is to win, but the preseason is the time for us to find out as much about the team as we can,” Colberg said. “We had some nice performances off the bench, and it?s good to know there are people there that we can rely on if we need to.”