The Sacramento State Hornets volleyball team didn’t go into its rival game with the Eastern Washington with the same aggressiveness and intensity they put into the previous games, but came out winners with a sweep over the Eagles (0-5 Big Sky).

Hornets head coach Debby Colberg knew going in that Eastern Washington was a bit of a rebuilding team, but didn’t think the team would go out with any less enthusiasm as if they were playing a ranked team like Long Beach State, who they swept in three games last week.

They knew their record and maybe didn’t play with the same intensity, she said.

Junior Michelle Franz, who led the Hornets with a personal season-high 14 kills and a career-high .636 hitting percentage, saw that her team’s intensity was low and the game was slow.

Sac State built up leads as high as 10 (24-14) in game one, which they easily won by a score of 30-20.

Game two was a different story. At one point the Hornets had a 19-11 lead only to see Eagles senior Crystal Johnson (12 kills) rally her team to a 22-21 lead.

The rally was short lived. Sac State was able to get control and take them down 30-23.

The final game was a nail biter at one point as the Hornets built another lead (14-9) only to again watch the Eagles claw their way back into the game. The Eagles eventually got to within 24-20 behind sophomore Addie Webster (nine kills).

Junior Lindsay Haupt wasn’t going to let the rival team have the satisfaction of a victory over the Hornets.

They are our rival, she said. We had to win.

The Hornets came out on top 30-21.

Sac State (15-4, 3-0) hosts the Portland State Vikings (10-4, 5-0) Saturday. The game should be a drag out fight since both teams are undefeated in the Big Sky. Middle hitter Franz believes her team will come out victorious.

We want to come out and beat them in three, she said.

Colberg isn’t worried about the intensity from this game carrying over to the next.

If we approach (Portland State on Saturday) with that laissez faire attitude, they will get beat. But they are smart. They’ll be ready.