Sacramento State volleyball was swept by the No. 5 Stanford Cardinal in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Maples Pavilion on Friday.

The Hornets were awarded an automatic bid into the tournament after winning the Big Sky Tournament, their first Big Sky Conference championship since 2007.

“I’ve wanted to come to the NCAA Tournament since I was a freshman,” senior outside hitter Caitlin Volkmann said. “It’s just been a dream of mine, and to actually do it and have it be my last year is a really good ending for my whole career.”

This was their fifth time playing Stanford in the NCAA Tournament and their sixth time playing in the tournament at Maples Pavilion, dating back to 2002. The Hornets were 0-4 against the Cardinal in the NCAA Tournament coming into this match, all of which were sweeps.

Set One: 25-19 Stanford

In the first set Sac State kept it very close with Stanford early on, only down 11-9.

Senior outside hitters Ellie Tisko and Bridgette Smith each had two kills, while four other Hornets got either a kill or assist in this time.

“If the chemistry is off, your season is going to be off,” Volkmann said. “If anything ever happened, we all lean on each other. You never feel like you’re alone out there.”

Cardinal senior setter Kami Miner’s first and only kill of the match ignited a 5-1 run that extended Stanford’s lead 16-10, with another 3-0 run later on making it 19-12. Miner had seven assists early, with sophomore opposite hitter Jordyn Harvey leading with three kills.

“We tried to serve tough, tried to get them out of the system,” Sac State head coach Ruben Volta said. “We did a decent job of that.”

Trading points back and forth to end the set, a kill from Harvey clinched the first set for Stanford. Cardinal junior outside hitter Elia Rubin was the main factor late in the set, with three of the last five kills to win it.

Miner had 12 assists, one more than the entire Hornet squad put together through the first set, and the Stanford offense had a side-out percentage of 89%.

RELATED: Fifth year senior duo leave their mark on Hornet volleyball

Set Two: 25-17 Stanford

Just like the first set, Sac State kept up with Stanford early and Smith’s fifth kill of the match tied the score up at five apiece. The Cardinal were able to pull ahead with a 4-0 run, where two attack errors by Smith and another kill by Rubin gave them the biggest lead of the set so far.

The Hornets built some momentum after four errors by Stanford, two attacking and two service. Sac State’s senior class carried the load offensively yet again with Tisko, Smith and Volkmann earning 15 of 16 kills for Sac State in this point of the match.

“Obviously, this senior class, they’re just exceptional,” Volta said. “They’re great volleyball players, great people, great students. They’ll be a tough class to fill.”

Stanford pulled away quickly, going on a 5-0 run to make it 19-11. Cardinal freshman outside hitter Ipar Kurt made her presence known with three kills during this run.

Rubin’s ninth kill of the match, a tipped spike that was just out of reach of junior setter Kate Doorn, won Stanford the second set, increasing Miner’s assist total to 23. Hornets’ junior middle blocker Ashlynn Archer got two kills late in the set and Cardinal freshman middle blocker Lizzy Andrew also acquired two of her own.

Stanford had eight service aces, four of which were by Kurt, compared to Sac State’s two. The Hornets had a match-worst .174 hit percentage in the second set, while the Cardinal had a match-best .526.

Set Three: 25-19 Stanford

Unlike the first two sets, it was all Stanford to start the third set, winning 10 of the first 12 points to take a commanding 10-2 lead over Sac State.

This run featured four service aces by the Cardinal, as well as three more kills by Rubin, increasing her total to 12. The Cardinal kept rolling, upping the score to 15-4 after kills by Kurt, Harvey and Andrew.

Sac State called their second and final timeout early. A kill and two service aces by Volkmann slowed the damage a bit, but Stanford stopped Sac State’s momentum in its tracks to increase their lead 19-9 off the back of two attack errors by Smith.

Stanford, on the brink of advancing, made four errors and allowed three kills from the Sac State senior class, letting the lead slip to only four, 22-18.

“I’m really proud of us for sticking in there,” Volkmann said. “We fought back at the end when we were down, so that’s a good thing to see.”

The comeback attempt was to no avail, as kill number 15 by Rubin and a Volkmann attacking error won the match for the Cardinal, sending them to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Stanford had a hit percentage of .392 compared to Sac State’s .212, had eight more service aces and had 37 digs over the Hornets’ 21.

The senior class for Sac State played a significant role in this match. Smith, Volkmann and Tisko combined for 25 of Sac State’s 28 total kills, and senior setter Hailey Plugge gathered seven assists.

With the Hornets’ season now over, Smith looked back on a great season and career.

“Sac State’s my home and it’s really sad to leave this program,” Smith said. “But at least I know I let it all out on the court no matter what. That’s such a good feeling, and I definitely owe it to myself just to go for it all the time.”

Sac State finishes a memorable season with a 21-12 overall record and the 10th Big Sky Conference title in program history.