Sac State volleyball team defeats Idaho State on senior night

Lone senior Sarah Davis posts match-high 17 kills

Jasmin Acosta

Sac State senior outside hitter Sarah Davis spikes the ball against Idaho State on Saturday, Nov. 16 at The Nest. As the lone senior, Davis had a match-high 17 kills in the win over the Tigers.

Robyn Dobson
November 16, 2019

The Sacramento State volleyball team swept Idaho State University in a decisive three sets at The Nest on Saturday night during their last home game of the regular season. 

Lone senior and co-captain Sarah Davis helped lead the Hornets (14-15, 9-7 Big Sky) to victory over the Bengals (7-21, 4-12) as she posted a match-high 17 kills on her senior night. 

“Unlike Thursday, I think we just did everything pretty well,” said head coach Ruben Volta. “We served really tough to start the match off. We passed well and that kinda led to everything else.”

Davis recorded the first five points for the Hornets with a kill and a string of four aces to open the first set and give the Hornets an early 5-1 lead. However, the Bengals offense quickly battled back to take a 16-12 lead late in the set. 

Sac State was not deterred as they recovered to take a close 25-23 set one victory. 

RELATED: Sac State volleyball team swept by second place Weber State

Sac State ran with the momentum from their first set win as the second set only saw one tie and no lead changes. 

Sac State dominated Idaho State from the service line. The Hornets combined for seven aces to the Bengals’ two by the end of set two. 

Sac State also limited Idaho State to just a .176 hitting percentage. The Hornets won set two 25-21 to give them a chance to sweep the entire match heading into the third set. 

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“I thought we came in with a really competitive mindset and knew what we had to do and how to succeed,” freshman right side hitter Kayla Subbert said. “We had lots of energy and we knew that tonight was a big night and we wanted to do good.”

Set three saw a more back-and-forth match with five ties. However, the Hornets’ dominant offense cemented the set three victory and match win. 

Sac State limited Idaho State to just a .029 hitting percentage to win set three 25-17.

In true storybook fashion, it was Davis who recorded the final kill of the night to end the match on her last regular season home game. 

RELATED: Sac State volleyball player exhibits exceptional leadership as team’s lone senior

Davis’s family was also in attendance during the game.

“It was so special,” Davis said. “It’s amazing that they could all be here. We are all from Arizona, so it was really cool that all my family and friends made the effort to come out and support me (at) my last game on my home court, almost. We still have the conference tournament.” 

In addition to her 17 kills, Davis also had five aces and four digs. Sophomore setter Ashtin Olin had 39 assists, three kills, seven digs and an ace.

Subbert also had a big night for the Hornets. She recorded a career-high 12 kills, a match and career-high seven blocks and a career-high hitting percentage of .526 for the night. 

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“She’s been such a hardworking player over the years,” Volta said about Davis. “We have her playing right side (and) left side. She’s just developed into one of the conference’s best players and she’s been so fun to coach. She’s just so easy to coach because she wants to work so hard and do so well. I’m really proud of her.”

The Hornets play their next match on the road Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at Portland State University.