Sac State volleyball sweeps Eastern Washington
After going down early, Hornets defeat Eagles in straight sets
Thomas Frey - The State Hornet
Cianna Andrews (2) and Lana Brown (7) go up for a block in Sac State’s win over Eastern Washington on Thursday. The Hornets are now 10-3 in the Big Sky Conference.
November 1, 2018
The Sacramento State volleyball team swept Eastern Washington in three sets Thursday night at the Nest 25-22, 25-8, 25-18.
The Hornets had 43 kills, 20 more than the Eagles, and 55 digs while maintaining a hitting percentage of .330.
Sac State won the first set 25-22 after coming back from an early 10-6 deficit. Leading the comeback were sophomore opposite hitter Cianna Andrews and junior outside hitter Sarah Davis, who each had five kills in the first set.
“First sets are always important,” said Sac State head coach Ruben Volta. “I would’ve liked to have started off better, but Eastern [Washington] played well. It took us a little while to get going offensively.”
The Hornets dominated the second set winning 25-8. They went up 12-5 early before the Eagles took their first timeout. After the timeout, the Hornets finished the set on a 13-3 scoring run, which was led by Davis and senior outside hitter Mikaela Nocetti. They combined for a total of eight points in the set.
“As a team, we played pretty well in the second set,” Nocetti said. “We picked up the intensity.”
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Eastern Washington kept it competitive in the third set with the Eagles junior outside hitter Kahle Elliott having three kills, while Eagles sophomore Catelyn Linke had two kills along with four digs in the final frame.
Sac State still managed to control the lead and won 25-18.
The win takes the Hornets to 15-12 on the season and 10-3 in Big Sky Conference play. They have now won seven of their last eight matches, with all of their victories being straight set sweeps.
Sac State will take on the University of Idaho Saturday who are currently 17-8 in the season and 11-2 in the Big Sky Conference at 7 p.m. The two teams squared off in Idaho Oct. 4 and the Vandals handed the Hornets a loss in four sets.
“We can always get better at everything,” Volta said. “It should be a good match as we are two good teams. Hopefully we come with some intensity and ready to play from the start.”
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