The women’s volleyball team at Sacramento State concluded the 2007 season with a 0-3 loss to Stanford on Saturday night at the Maples Pavilion.

With a score of 30-23, 30-11 and 30-28, the Cardinal swept the Hornets in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA appearance was the sixth consecutive for the Hornets and the 10th appearance in 11 years.

The Hornets made it to the second round of the tournament after beating Minnesota 3-1 Friday night. The second round appearance was also the first time the team made it into the second round since the 1998 season.

The match against Minnesota marked the second time in 10 NCAA appearances that the Hornets did not face a nationally ranked team in the first round.

In the four-game match (23-30, 30-25, 30-24, 30-17) the Hornets posted a .147 hitting percentage, yet still went on to advance to the second round.

Although the Hornets had lower numbers in blocks, digs, kills and service aces, they still managed to battle for the win in four games.

Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert had many nice things to say about both the program at Sac State and head coach Debby Colberg.

“Congratulations to Sac State, I thought they really played the game well. They did so many things that coaches of the game and insiders of the game really appreciate and I was impressed,” Hebert said.

On Saturday night, the Hornets came into the Maples Pavilion ready to play No. 1 seeded Stanford.

The first game started out all Stanford as the Cardinal posted a 29-14 lead before the Hornets came back with a 9-0 rally.

Junior Katie Van Der Wende served throughout the nine point run while senior middle hitter Lindsay Haupt contributed four kills and a block assist.

Haupt helped the rest of the team keep up its momentum during the end of game one.

“I think it was just going out and being aggressive. With a team like that, you can’t be worried, you can’t be scared, you just have to be courageous. It was shear hard work,” Haupt said.

As team captain, Ferguson tried to keep the team’s confidence level up as well, although they were playing No. 1 Stanford.

“When we’re coming in playing Stanford, there is always a little bit of nerve, but at the same time we know that it’s coming so we’re coming out ready to play,” Ferguson said.

The game ended at 30-23 with a kill from Stanford.

The second game was all Stanford as the team dominated offensively with a .541 hitting percentage and limited the Hornets to a .028 hitting percentage.

The Cardinal were full of momentum as the team started off the game with eight of the first nine points scored.

During the game, the Hornets posted just seven kills.

After the break, the Hornets were looking for one of their own as Colberg hoped Stanford would be too rested coming back onto the court.

“We were hoping Stanford would come out with the typical third game lull after winning the first two and they kind of did. They didn’t play with the same type of intensity,” Colberg said.

The third game looked hopeful for the Hornets as they matched Stanford’s level of play. The game was back and forth until the Cardinal took an 11-7 lead.

Behind the serving of senior outside hitter Missie Stidham the Hornets came back to lead by one. A hitting error by Haupt ended the game 28-30.

The Hornets ended their season with a 29-8 record overall. The volleyball team will lose five seniors including Haupt, Stidham, Ferguson, Michelle Franz and Alex Vidal.

The loss also marked the end of Colberg’s Hornet career. After coaching the Hornets for 32 years, she announced in August that this season would be her last.

It was hard for Colberg to grasp the idea that she would no longer be coaching the Hornets, as she was overwhelmed with emotions from the match.

“I didn’t think about it when I walked off the court, you know you’re just so consumed by having just lost. That’s been a part of my life this whole season,” Colberg said.

Haupt also believes she was lucky to play for Colberg in her final season as coach. Haupt was recruited by Colberg from a small school in Etna.

“I’m really thankful that [Colberg] stuck around for our last year. She is the best coach that I ever had. I could never have dreamed that she would have taught me the things she did, not only on the court but in life,” Haupt said.

Ferguson recognized that leaving volleyball would be hard, yet she wanted to make sure she left something behind for future generations of Hornet volleyball players.

“I think we’ve set some standards for the younger girls to look up to and that’s all you can do. You leave something behind for the kids to play harder for next year,” Ferguson said.

The NCAA appearance was the 20th for Colberg in her career with Sac State. Next year, associate head coach Ruben Volta will be taking over head coaching duties.

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