Sacramento State lost its first Big Sky Conference match on the road against Idaho State University 3-1 on Thursday night.

The Hornets fall to 15-3 on the season, 2-1 in conference play and second place in the Big Sky Conference South. The loss left Idaho State (11-6) as the the only 3-0 team in the Big Sky Conference South.

The team had a hitting percentage of .147 and committed 29 errors on the night. Outside hitters Sloan Lovett and Lauren Kissell had good kill totals with Kissell leading the team with 19 and Lovett close behind with 13. Combined, they had 19 errors and had hitting percentages under .160.

“[We need to] reduce our errors,” said Sac State coach Ruben Volta. “It’s uncharacteristic for us, we’ve taken care of the ball all year.”

Sac State got off to a slow start in the first set losing 25-15. Idaho came out firing, hitting .333 for the set. The Hornets could not establish an offensive rhythm hitting at .000 percent at the conclusion of the set. Kissell led the team in kills with five.

Sac State came back strong in the second set winning 25-17 and hitting .385. There were only two lead changes and three ties in the set as the Hornets ran away with it. Outside hitters Lovett and Kissell had a great set combining for 11 kills.

“We slowed their offense down” said Volta. “We were able to control the ball better on our side. It just came down to ball control.”

Idaho State responded with a dominant performance in the third set winning 25-16. They took the lead early and kept it for the entirety of the set. The hitting percentage for the Hornets dropped again in the third set to .054 and totaled 10 errors on the set.

Sac State played a much better fourth set but would still not have an answer for Idaho State’s offense. Idaho State hit .158 on the set paired with 15 kills. Idaho State’s Tressa Lyman led the team with 17 kills on the evening.

“We’re going to have to play better and not make as many errors,” said Volta. “We’re on the road and we can’t give the home team any runs making the game easy on them.”

The Hornets lead the overall series with Idaho State 27-13.

Sac State will continue their road trip facing Weber State University on Saturday Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. Weber State is 5-8 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. Sac State lost both of their meetings with Weber State last year, but lead the overall series 31-10 dating back to their first match in 1991.