The Sacramento State volleyball team dominated Idaho State 3-0 in a home match at The Nest Saturday evening.

Sac State has been on a bit of a rocky road, but they aren’t giving up. With the victory, the Hornets were able to get out to a 2-0 start in Big Sky play after a 4-8 start to the season.

“I thought we received serves really well. We passed, [which] was able to open up our offense,” head coach Ruben Volta said. “Then we started playing really good defense and serving well.” 

First Set: 25-23 Sac State

The Hornets had a competitive match-up with the Bengals.

The set was tied 23-23 until the Hornets were able to pull out two straight scores and win 25-23. The Bengal’s errors within this set gave Sac State a chance and they took advantage.

Junior outside hitter Bridgette Smith came through with five kills within the Hornets set of 12. She said that in the game against the Bengals, Sac State stayed aggressive and worked together to secure the conference play win. 

It was a close first set with the Bengals also scoring 12 kills. The Hornet fans were on the edge of their seats, filling the Nest with high energy the entire match. 

Second Set: 25-15 Sac State

Going into the second set, the Hornets leaned on their strong offense– earning a total of 15 kills. 

“I feel like we just played as a team,” junior middle blocker Kalani Hayes said. “We didn’t let anything phase us.” 

Sac State had six more kills than Idaho State and the Bengals weren’t able to take over the Hornets momentum. Sac State secured the bag– walking away with 25-15 in the second set. 

Third Set: 25-18 Sac State

In the third set of the match, the Hornets started strong with great defense and stayed connected as they were looking to close out the Bengals on Sac State’s home floor. 

Idaho State tried their best to keep up, but the Hornets led the entire set– finishing the final set with a score of 25-18. Sac State had a total of 11.0 team blocks. 

Player Statistics

Hayes came out of the game with seven kills along with six blocks and a .308 hitting percentage.

Senior setter Ashtin Olin finished with a total of four blocks, 31 assists and seven digs this match.

“I think we put a lot of pressure on the other team because Ashtin, our setter, can set anyone,” Smith said.  “I feel like we have a few young players out there and just like knowing we are good and playing like it.”

Senior middle blocker Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin had six kills, three blocks and a .667 hitting percentage in the match, playing aggressively. 

Smith secured 16 kills in total in Saturday’s match.

After a challenging preseason, Sac State now sits at 6-8 overall. 

“I think that preseason experience has really helped us,” Volta said. “Every match is different and every opponent in our conference is really strong so we just have to be good in all areas– passing and serving in defense.” 

The Hornets will be on the road to Flagstaff, Arizona against Northern Arizona University on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.