Sacramento State fans saw two very different Hornet volleyball teams Thursday night against Montana State in a stiflingly humid Hornets Nest.

On one hand there were the Hornets with the swagger of a team that had won seven of its last eight matches ?” which took the first two games easily; on the other hand there was the team that lost its edge and allowed its opponent back in. Sac State eventually hung on for a 3-1 victory.

In the opening Big Sky conference match for both teams, balls were flying into Bobcat territory for the Hornets early on with a dominant performance in games one and two. Junior Atlee Hubbard and last week’s Big Sky Player of the Week, Michelle Franz, teamed up for 19 kills, 6 digs and 7 blocks by the end of the second game to stake Sac State to a 2-0 lead.

By the end of game two things would take a turn for the worst and a different Hornet team would take the court.

After the 10-minute break the momentum had switched over to the Bobcats and into the swatting hand of Kim Stonehouse. The six-foot junior was able to lift head and shoulders over the net and killed six balls with six digs in game three alone. By the end of the night Stonehouse had tallied 14 kills and 11 digs with a .179 hitting percentage.

At 23-20, with Montana State leading, senior setter Natalie Melcher would come out to give freshman Ross Burke a chance to hold out game three. The Hornets would force three game points, pressuring Montana State to take a timeout at 29-25, but after a fourth game point a service error on Sac State would give the Bobcats the game.

“We were not willing to fight quite as hard,” said Head Coach Debby Colberg. “(Montana State) came out with better defense and started digging balls.”

Also, game three was the only game Montana State outdid the Hornets in hitting percentage (.273-.170).

In each of the four games Montana State took the opening point, and for much of game four the Bobcats dominated the net.

Colberg’s Hornets fought their way through a nail-bitter in game four, going kill for kill against their first conference opponent. Hubbard would lead Hornets in the final game with a total 21 kills, seven digs and five blocks.

The Bobcats seemed to be more confused than ever in the closing moments of the match as the libero for the Bobcats, Kandice Kelly, would step out off the court and sit on the bench only to realize she still needed to serve the next point. Kelly still dig up 14 balls on the night, second only to fifth-year senior Meggie Malyurek’s 16 digs and 11 kills.

Taking the lead at 25-24, Sacramento State was able to hold off the Bobcats attack and take advantage of their poor passing to round out game four.

When the dust settled the Hornets would extend their home winning streak against conference opponents to 41-consecutive matches, a streak that goes all the way back to the 1999 season.

Sacramento State improved to 9-6 and 1-0 in the Big Sky for the season winning eight of the last nine and rolls onto their second conference opponent on Saturday against Montana (10-5, 0-1) at 7 p.m. in the Hornets’ Nest.