The Hornets took the Eastern Washington Eagles in a three-game sweep (30-20, 30-17, 30-20) to win the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament tonight at the Hornets Nest.

On Saturday the Hornets will take on Portland State for the championship title. In her 32nd and final year, head coach Debby Colberg has lead the Hornets to their 11th consecutive Big Sky championship appearance.

Before tonight’s match, Colberg was honored for her contribution to student-athletics.

Senior middle hitter Lindsay Haupt didn’t feel like the Hornets needed to play special in order to impress Debby. Nor did the team feel any pressure to play differently despite it being Colberg’s last year as coach.

“Debby is not the person who likes being put on a pedestal. She doesn’t flaunt her success. She recognizes that she is a good coach but she doesn’t put pressure on us,” Haupt said.

Colberg doesn’t feel like she puts pressure on her players even in big tournament matches. She also doesn’t think the team feels pressure to play better as her coaching career comes to an end.

“I hope they don’t [feel pressure]. I hope they play for themselves,” Colberg said.

The Hornets earned the right to host this year’s Big Sky Tournament after winning the season title last year.

Home court advantage seemed to help the Hornets as the team sailed to a 3-0 victory.

“I think it’s nicer to play at home when you have the crowd on your side,” Colberg said.

Haupt also thinks that playing at home is nice, yet she feels that no matter where the team plays, it only has one thing on its mind.

“We definitely have a lot of support at home, but we’re here to get a job done so it doesn’t really matter where we play,” Haupt said.

Last week, Haupt was honored with the Big Sky’s Most Valuable Player award. It marked the second time Haupt has received the award during her career.

“It’s really exciting to get an award like that. It really is an honor but it is a reflection of our team. It just shows how great we are,” Haupt said.

During the match, the Hornets put up nine and a half blocks to Eastern Washington’s four. The Hornets also had 14 more digs than the Eagles.

“Defense is huge. We frustrate teams every year because we put the block up and we play good defense,” Haupt said.

Freshman libero Chelsea Goodsell also knows a thing or two about the importance of defense.

“Defense is very important. It really frustrates the other team. When we block them they get frustrated and can’t put a ball down,” Goodsell said.

“It’s always a thrill to be in the championship match. This is what we work all season for,” Colberg said.

The Hornets next match will start at 7 p.m. against Portland State Saturday night in the Hornets Nest.

Alicia de la Garza can be reached at [email protected]