RECAP: On the road again: One win, one loss for Sac State volleyball this weekend
The Hornets split matches on Big Sky road trip
Freddie Lacey/Weber State Athletics
Sac State senior setter Ashton Olin blocks a ball on the road against Weber State on Oct. 13 in a 3-0 Hornet loss in The Reed K. Swenson Gym in Ogden, Utah. Olin had 29 assists in the Hornets’ loss on Thursday.
October 16, 2022
The Sacramento State volleyball team went on the road this week to play against Weber State on Thursday evening, getting swept 0-3 in the match.
The second match was a road game against Idaho State on Saturday evening; the Hornets won three sets to one.
The Hornets are now 10-10 overall and 6-2 in Big Sky Conference play.
Thursday: The Hornets tumble on the road against Weber State, lose 0-3
Sac State went on the road to Ogden, Utah Thursday evening. The Hornets had an aggressive match with Weber State and ultimately fell to the Wildcats.
Weber State applied pressure going into the first set and the Hornets kept up with them by playing strong defense when attacks came their way.
Sac State was unable to keep up with Weber State’s momentum as they came through with a win of 25-19.
The Hornets and the Wildcats were head-to-head all of the second set. Weber State scored a point to make it 23-22– which broke the tie with Sac State as they took the lead all the way with a win of 25-22 in the second set.
“I thought we played really well in the first and second set,” head coach Ruben Volta said. “I just think that Weber also played really well, too. I thought we did a pretty good job passing and attacking, but then our attacking kind of disappeared.”
Going into the third and final set, the Hornets went in being aggressive. They played with strong defense as a team but kept making errors– like hitting the ball out of bounds.
The Wildcats were able to push through with the victory in the third set 25-19.
“The thing I feel that could’ve gone a little bit better was just maybe missing a few less serves and hitting the ball out less,” senior setter Ashtin Olin said. “It was like a really small margin, but in games like this that are tight it means a lot.”
The Wildcats walked away with a 3-0 straight sweep against the Hornets.
Saturday: The Hornets rebounded from the loss to Weber State with a 3-1 win over Idaho State on the road
Sac State came out sluggish against the Bengals, managing only 8 kills on 38 attempts.
“I didn't think we started that great, although I think [Idaho State] played really well,” Volta said, adding that the Hornet’s previous sweep of [Idaho State University] is a reason why the Bengals came out so strong.
Sophomore outside hitter Ellie Tisko said the Bengals were swinging at everything.
“[They] came out guns blazing,” Tisko said.
According to Volta, the message during the team’s huddle was to stick to the basics: hit better and pass better. The message was heard loud and clear and the Hornets began to find their footing in the second set.
The Hornets doubled their number of kills from the first set– recording 16 on only six more attempts. Playing a close set with ISU despite a game high five service errors — when the ball fails to get over the net off of a serve or is served out of bounds — the two teams traded leads.
Sac State passed the 25-point threshold before winning the set by the required 2 points; Hornets 26-24.
Sac State cemented their dominance in the third set, recording 15 kills in 29 attempts to ISU’s 10 in 37.
The last two sets are where Tisko made her presence felt. While it may not show up on the top of stat sheets, her 11 kills and nine digs helped propel the Hornets to three straight winning sets.
“They needed someone to hit high hands on the outside, pass and play defense,” Tisko said. “I just did my job.”
Sac State cleaned up ISU in the fourth set, registering a .556 kill percentage and allowing ISU a KP of .216. The team also managed to avoid recording a single service error in a set for the first time all game.
The Hornets will get a week of rest before returning to action at Portland State Saturday. For the practices ahead, Coach Volta says the message and emphasis is on consistency of play.
With the 3-1 win over Idaho State, Sac State moves to 10-10 on the year, as well as a 6-2 mark in Big Sky conference play.
