Sacramento State’s volleyball team hit the road and traveled to Greeley, Colorado on Thursday where they showed off their fast striking offense to sweep Northern Colorado, 3-0.

The second match was in Flagstaff, Arizona on Saturday afternoon against Northern Arizona and they swept the Lumberjacks aside to create a two-game lead in the Big Sky Conference.

Thursday: Sac State: 3, Northern Colorado: 0

The Northern Colorado Bears ended Sac State’s season last year in the semifinals of the Big Sky Tournaments, but the Hornets were determined to not allow a repeat and quickly defeated the defending Big Sky champions.

Sac State’s offense was as potent as ever against the Bears and was led by junior outside hitter Ellie Tisko, who dominated the match with 19 kills and 28 team assists.

“We’re showing the Big Sky that we’re here,” Tisko said. “We’re ready to play.”

The Hornets fell behind early in the set, but after Tisko scored four kills and with some help from senior outside hitter Bridgette Smith, Sac State gained a momentous lead they didn’t let go of.

In the second set, Tisko once again led her team to an advantageous lead the Bears were unable to come back from.

Smith, senior middle blockers Kalani Hayes and Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin contributed 11 kills. An attack error by the Bears and a service ace by Kamba-Griffin allowed the Hornets to cruise to another set win, 25-22.

The final set showed the Hornets’ determination to get the sweep, as the two teams battled back and forth.

The deciding moment in the set was the 5-0 run to put the game in match point for the Hornets. Hayes ended the game with a kill and the Hornets secured their first road win at Bank of Colorado Arena since 2016.

“Our mission was to change the narrative and get a win,” Hayes said. “A sweep was extra nice, but we just wanted to get over that mental hump that every year we lose and we did it.”

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Saturday: Sac State: 3, Northern Arizona: 0

In a repeat of the first game of conference play, Sac State cut down the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in three sets.

Just like the first time these two teams met, the result was the same with Sac State ending the game swiftly, but the sets were a lot closer than the end score would indicate.

“Offensively, I thought we did pretty well again,” Sac State head coach Ruben Volta said. “Our receiving and attacking was really good.”

Early on in the first set, the Hornet offense was on full display, which helped them power through some momentous defensive plays from the Lumberjacks.

Northern Arizona gained the lead early on, but senior outside hitter Caitlin Volkmann got multiple kills and assisted Kamba-Griffin with a block to help even the score.

Smith and Tisko were able to help the team get the lead and they secured the first set, 25-23.

“Offensively I think we were talking great, but defensively, I think we could have put up more of a fight, for sure,” Smith said.

The second set saw the largest deficit for the Hornets of the night, with the Lumberjacks putting up six consecutive points early on, making the score 8-2.

The Hornets rallied with a five-point run created by Volkmann’s multiple kills and Kamba-Griffin’s blocks to get them back into the game. That boost powered the Hornets to take the set 25-22.

“I think we got that comeback because we never lost confidence in ourselves,” Kamba-Griffin said. “We knew that we could do it. It was just a matter of putting the pieces together.”

The final set was mostly controlled by the Hornets, but the Lumberjacks made a last ditch effort and came swinging back into the set with four unanswered points, making the score 22-20.

Volkmann got one kill and Smith cleaned up the match with two more to win the game, 25-22.

With the two road wins, the Hornets will be returning home to play against Eastern Washington Thursday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.