Sacramento State volleyball traveled to UC Davis on Tuesday in hopes of adding to their win streak, but fell short to the Aggies in the historic Causeway Classic rivalry, 3-1.
“We were feeling good coming off this last weekend and ready to be back out on the court,” junior middle blocker Ashlynn Archer said. “There’s always an added sort of excitement surrounding this game every preseason because of this rivalry.”
First Set: 25-13 UC Davis
The Hornets struck first by setting up senior outside hitter Caitlin Volkmann for back-to-back kills in the first set.
The set was close in the beginning at 5-7, but the Aggies started pulling away after three straight kills that sent Sac State scrambling around the court.
The Aggies capitalized off of service aces and the Hornets became riddled with service and attack errors to continue upping their score
“I didn’t think we started off passing well and then we had a hard time setting well and playing a good level of volleyball,” Sac State head coach Ruben Volta said.
The Aggies made quick work of the Hornets as they went on five different scoring runs to claim victory. Davis junior outside hitter Jade Light achieved the set-winning kill off a spike that landed just inside the empty back corner.
Second Set: 28-26 UC Davis
Davis started off with a 2-0 lead, but the Hornets kept it close by answering anytime the Aggies went on a scoring run.
The Aggies continued to add to their score and were able to drop most of their serves and kills into the back corners uncontested by the Hornets.
With the set tied at 20, sophomore middle blocker Karlie Spohn had a hard-hit kill that the Aggies tried to kick, but failed, which gave Sac State the 21-20 lead and forced the Aggies to take a time-out.
Senior outside hitter Bridgette Smith made a set-saving play for the Hornets when she ran to the outside of the baseline to get the ball and relayed back to her teammates. Smith was then able to run back and get the kill to retake the lead 22-21.
“When we played free and with confidence, they didn’t have an answer,” Archer said. “Our biggest thing that needs to change is to fight back when they’re playing well on the other side of the net.”
After the set point, two ties and a lead change late in the set, Light won it for the Aggies on a service ace that was just out of Volkmann’s reach.
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Third Set: 25-19 Sac State
The Hornets found their offensive rhythm in the third set by taking advantage of the Aggie errors and creating a shift in momentum.
“The start of the match was rough, but we responded and I thought we played really well in the second and third sets,” Volta said.
Once again, the set was close before the Hornets’ score margin grew thanks to four errors by the Aggies and a kill by Volkmann for the 15-9 lead.
“Today we fought through some adversity in the third set,” Volkmann said. “We were able to turn it around, but we needed to be more consistent and play well when Davis was doing good things.”
Things started clicking for the Hornets in the third set, matching 10 kills with the Aggies and a couple of key blocks.
Archer secured the set win with a kill that forced the Aggies senior opposite hitter Olivia Utterback to lay out in an attempt to keep the ball in play.
Fourth Set: 25-14 UC Davis
The Hornets hurt their chances in the fourth set due to seven attack errors compared to the Aggies two.
Sac State was able to stop the Aggies’ many runs, but had a hard time capitalizing on them and struggled to add consecutive points to the board.
The Aggies secured the win with an aggressive kill, despite Sac State sophomore libero Reese Ampi’s diving attempt to keep the ball alive.
“Next match we will come out with fire because we know we are a better team than how we played tonight and we will use it to drive our upcoming matches,” Volkmann said.
The Hornets will head to Michigan to play in a three-day tournament hosted at the University of Michigan starting on Thursday and then head to Oakland University on Friday and Saturday.
Sac State swept Saint Francis University 3-0 in their first match on Thursday.
