Sacramento State volleyball finished up tournament play with the Michigan/Oakland Tournament and Central Cal Challenge as they prepare for the Big Sky Conference.

The Hornets won three games in the Michigan and Oakland tournament and one game in the Fresno tournament, giving them a 7-6 record heading into the Big Sky Conference.

Michigan/Oakland Tournament: 3-1

The Hornets traveled to Michigan to play in a three day tournament spanning from Thursday Sept. 12 to Saturday Sept. 14.

Sac State had a clean sweep against Saint Francis University, 3-0, before getting wiped out by Michigan, 3-0. After making some adjustments the Hornets came back and won the last two matches 3-0 against Oakland and 3-2 against Akron.

The Hornets struggled against Michigan having a season low of 22 kills, 32 digs and .032 hitting percentage, but they were able to turn things around in the last two games.

“Against Michigan we weren’t really blocking or digging a lot of balls and I feel like we weren’t super confident,” junior middle blocker Ashlynn Archer said. “We were being cautious with our swings, but I feel like in the last two games we dug a lot more balls and blocked a lot more.”

The Hornets were led by senior outside hitters Bridgette Smith and Caitlin Volkmann throughout the Michigan Tournament. They had a combined 95 kills and 59 digs.

“Me and Caitlin came in together freshman year,” Smith said. “It’s been awesome to play with her, we both have the same mindset in playing and just going for it.”

Archer brought the defense and had 11 blocks throughout all four games.

“Overall we played pretty well,” Archer said. “I think the biggest thing was we get pretty competitive, like when it starts to get close, we gave ourselves big leads and then when they would push back, we would push back a bit more.”

Archer said through tournament play thus far, the Hornets have been able to gain experience playing different teams with different styles.

“Even this weekend Michigan is really big, and a couple others we played run fast offenses,” Archer said.

The trip to Michigan allowed senior outside hitter Ellie Tisko to play in her home state.

“It was a blast, I had lots of family and friends that came and supported,” Tisko said. “It was a very surreal feeling.”

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Sac State head coach Ruben Volta said the team played with grit despite the travel and adjusting to the time change.

“We had some close sets, but we just kind of hung in there, played tough and played some good defense and we were able to win,” Volta said.

Archer was named to the all-tournament team for the second time this season.

“It’s kind of been hard the last two years because I’ve been behind two really good middles,” Archer said. “I also think that was a really big blessing because I learned a lot from them and getting to compete with them the last two years in practice has been really fun and prepared me, I’m excited for this upcoming season.”

Last year’s middle blockers Kalani Hayes and Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin were defensive powerhouses for the Hornets. Kamba-Griffin had 161 blocks and Hayes had 156 blocks just last year.

Central Cal Challenge: 1-2

The following weekend the Hornets traveled to Fresno to play in a three game tournament from Sept. 20-22, where they swept CSU Bakersfield 3-0 and lost a pair of games 1-3 to the Fresno State Bulldogs and University of the Pacific Tigers.

The Hornets outplayed the Bakersfield Roadrunners in the first match with 43 kills, 45 digs and .235 hitting percentage compared to the Roadrunners 28 kills, 32 digs and .117 hitting percentage.

“Against Bakersfield, we started really aggressively and they didn’t handle it very well and that helped us a lot in that match,” Volta said. 

During the last two matches of the tournament, the Hornets got to work early by winning the first set in each, before the Bulldogs and Tigers came back and won the next three.

“We struggled a little bit on communication during passing and I think that was the overall theme this weekend,” Smith said.

Hornets look towards Big Sky play

Volta said the level of competition they have played has helped prepare them for Big Sky play.

“We had a meeting and watched some film, and talked about how we had a really successful preseason, played some tough competition and played really well at times,” Volta said. “And I think we’re ready for Big Sky competition.”

Smith said through tournament play the Hornets have learned what it takes to be a winning team and finish out games.

“It’s been a grind so far, we played some hard teams, but we’ve been neck and neck,” Smith said. 

Volta also said that Smith and Volkmann do a lot for the Hornets as they play all parts of the game.

Despite their struggles last weekend, Volkmann said in her five years with the Hornets there has always been good team chemistry.

“That’s never been something I questioned, these are pretty much my sisters,” Volkmann said. 

Smith was named all conference in all four preseason tournaments.

“It feels good, I’m excited,” Smith said. “We have a really tough conference, but it gives me a little boost of confidence and I’m going to have a chip on my shoulder.”

Volkmann said the Hornets have figured out who they want to be this season.

“We’ve struggled with making all aspects of our games work together, so if something is not fully our best, we can rely on something else,” Volkmann said. “I think that’s definitely something we can do in the future.”

The Hornets will kick off Big Sky Conference play on Thursday against Montana State at 7 p.m. in the Nest.