Sacramento State’s volleyball team capped off a strong weekend with a sure-handed victory over Southern Utah Saturday.

The Hornets controlled the match the entire night as they cruised in straight sets (25-21, 25-14, 25-16), to improve to 7-8 overall, and 2-2 in Big Sky Conference play. The Thunderbirds fell to 2-11 and are now 1-2 in conference matchups.

After taking down third-seeded Northern Arizona Friday evening, head coach Ruben Volta was impressed with the way his team came out to conclude the weekend.

“This season we’ve had some ups and downs and I felt like all weekend we played really steady,” Volta said. “It was nice to see because the opponents on both nights play very different styles of volleyball.”

Freshman outside hitter Morgan Stanley followed her best night of the season with 11 kills and a .421 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Sloan Lovett had another quality match with 13 kills and a .440 percentage.

“I think it helped a lot being at home, considering we were away three weekends in a row,” Stanley said.

Coach Volta was impressed with Stanley’s performance throughout the weekend.

“She just played really well all weekend and was really aggressive, especially in attacking,” Volta said. “She played the game with a lot of speed and energy.”

Lovett said this weekend was very important for the team as they delve deeper into their conference schedule.

“I think we really needed both these wins to boost our confidence, and get our energy going,” Lovett Said. “It’s so much fun when we’re all playing well, and being competitive and having fun.”

While the two victories have propelled the team, Volta and his players know there’s much more room for improvement.

“I still think defense and passing are areas we can improve a lot in, but we’re attacking really well right now,” Volta said.

Stanley expressed similar sentiments in agreement with her veteran coach.

“I think there’s always room for improvement because volleyball is a game of errors, so there’s definitely room for improvement,” Stanley said.

At the conclusion of the match, the Hornets finished with team totals of 41 kills and a .349 hitting percentage, while keeping Southern Utah in check to the tune of 26 kills and a .167 percentage.

The Hornets are back home Thursday for a showdown with Northern Colorado (5-9) at 7 p.m.