After losing outside hitter Shannon Roland to a broken clavicle, Hornets volleyball may have said goodbye to the rest of the season, a Big Sky Conference championship repeat and a possible NCAA tournament berth.

Despite the injury, Roland, the Hornets’ most powerful hitter, has stayed upbeat.

“I think we are going to pick up right where we left off,” Roland said. “We can adjust. I’m not worried about it.”

During a hitting drill in practice Roland went up for a ball and came down screaming in pain.

“I wasn’t sure what had happened. My neck was tingling, like a really sharp nerve pain,” Roland said.

The junior is expected to be out for at least six weeks, but could return as soon as the Big Sky championships start heating up.

“I’m frustrated of course,” Roland said. “But I can’t beat myself up about it.”

Apparently the rest of head coach Debby Colberg’s team had brought Roland’s positive attitude along with them to the Orange and Green Challenge last weekend.

In the first match of the tournament the Hornets handed the host team, Miami, their first loss of the season.

Junior outside hitter Atlee Hubbard scored 11 kills and 13 digs for a double-double, along with senior setter Natalie Melcher’s 33 assists and fellow junior Lindsay Haupt’s eight blocks to deny the Hurricanes a perfect record.

The success over the Hurricanes was quickly washed away after the Hornets second match against No. 9 Louisville, the highest ranked opponent the Hornets have faced all season.

Sacramento State was held to just a .152 hitting percent and no blocks against Louisville’s .333 and 14 respectively.

In the second half of Saturday’s double-header, the Hornets faced Michigan State (7-2).

The Spartans edged out the first two games 30-28 and 30-25, but the Hornets would take the momentum away, winning the next three games.

Although the Hornets were out scored statistically in kills (81-67), assists (76-64) and digs (103-83), they capitalized on Michigian State’s 51 errors.

Hubbard led the Hornets with 22 kills and 11 digs, along with Kristin Lutes’ 26 digs. This is the sixth victory for Sacramento State in the last seven matches and keeps the Hornets just above .500 with a 7-6 record for the season.

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Brad Alexander can be reached at [email protected]