The Sacramento State women’s volleyball team won the most important game of their season on Saturday night. The Hornets had to win the game against Portland State in order to earn a spot in the playoffs and the win leaves Sac State with a sixth place finish in the Big Sky league. Saturday’s game was the last home game of the season.

The night started off with a ceremony to recognize the graduating seniors on the team. Katie Van Der Wende, Brittany Ferguson and Rose Burke took turns standing on the court with their families. They received flowers and the announcer talked about their achievements.

Van Der Wende plays Libero for the Hornets and is currently ranked sixth in the league.

Ferguson, an Opposite, had her best season this year. She earned a .545 average with six kills in Saturday’s game.

Burke, the team’s setter, is ranked second in the league and fifth in Hornet history. She played her 105th consecutive match Saturday.

Sacramento State took command of the match from the first game and held control until the end. The game started off with two consecutive points by the Portland State Vikings but the Hornets tied it up by 4-4. The Hornets took the lead from that point on didn’t give it up. The Hornets held a seven point mid-way through the match and kept a commanding point difference throughout the rest of the game. The final score was 25-18 Hornets.

The second game started with five consecutive points for the Hornets. Sac State took a significant lead of 10-2 but let the Vikings inch their way back to finally come within three points towards the end of the game. The Hornets didn’t let the Vikings shake them up. They won the game 25-20. Portland State had four more kills than Sac State during the second game but made seven more errors than the Hornets.

The Vikings took charge of the first game. It was tied at 3-3 when the Vikings earned their biggest lead of the night, bringing the score to 3-7 Vikings. Sac State then tied it up at 7-7. The teams battled their way to a 10-10 tie before the Hornets took complete control during the second half of the game. Sac State gave up only two points for the rest of the game. The final score was a decisive Hornet victory of 25-12.

The team was ecstatic after the match, especially Hornet middle hitter Maddison Thivierge.

“It feels amazing!” Thivierge said. “We put everything together tonight. We were working really hard and we came in extra fired up.”

Burke, who played her last game at Colberg Court on Saturday, explained that the win meant a lot to her.

“It was exciting and sad,” she said. “I think it’s an inspiration to us.”

Melissa Melcher, who served during 10 of the final points of the match said that the win felt very good and that she was excited about going to the playoffs. “This game was a great finish at home,” she said.Melcher had some extra motivation during the game. A former teammate of hers plays for Portland State. “It feels really good every time we beat them,” she said.

Coach Ruben Volta was also excited about the win.

“It feels good that we played well,” he said. “We finished strong. I think we are a whole different team.”

Sac State will advance to the playoffs at the Big Sky Tournament held in Portland Oregon. They play Northern Colorado on Friday.