The Sacramento State women’s sand volleyball team opened up the Sacramento State Invitational Friday with two matches, against the University of San Francisco and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The Hornets lost both or its matches, a 4-1 defeat to San Francisco and a heart-breaking 3-2 loss against Cal Poly.

Sac State played its first match against the Mustangs of Cal Poly. The first two games played were the duos of freshmen, Kendall LaVine and Courtney Dietrich against the Mustang’s No.5 team, and freshman Lexie Skalbeck and senior Chelcy Motes against Cal Poly’s No.4. Lavine and Dietrich were very competitive but fell in straight sets 17-21, 18-21. Skalbeck and Motes played well in their opening match as they won in straight sets 21-17, 21-17.

Next up was the pairing of freshmen, Madeline Cannon and Morgan Stanley against the Mustang’s No. 3’s, and sophomores, Sloan Lovett and Lauren Aikels against Cal Poly’s No.2 team. Cannon and Stanley lost their first set but were able to bounce back and win the next two to defeat the Mustangs 17-21, 21-15, 15-12. Lovett and Aikels played tough, but were defeated in straight sets 17-21, 18-21.

With the match tied 2-2, it came down to the No.1 squads for each team. The Hornets’ seniors, Kayla Beal and Katie Aprile got off to a good start as they won the first set 22-20. However, several miscues and missed opportunities cost them in the next two sets. The Mustangs won those sets 21-19, 15-11 and won the overall match 3-2.

The second match against USF was not nearly as close for the Hornets. The only Hornets pair to win was the tandem of Lovett and Aikels as they defeated the Dons 26-24, 21-14.

The pairing of LaVine and Dietrich went to three sets but eventually lost 21-16, 7-21, 5-15. Cannon and Stanley went three sets as well, but also fell 21-19, 15-21, 8-15.

Skalbeck and Motes fell in their second match of the day in straight sets by a score of 15-21, 16-21. The No.1 for the Hornets also went down in straight sets 15-21, 16-21.

The Invitational resumes Saturday as the Hornets play their first match at noon against UC Berkeley and its second match at 6 p.m. against Santa Clara University.