Sacramento State is now up to No. 2 in the Big Sky after a 2-0 road trip that kept their win streak alive at six. They won 3-1 against the Idaho State Bengals and swept the Weber State Wildcats.
Sac State matched up with the Bengals Thursday at Reed Gym in Pocatello in four sets. Freshman outside hitter Keonahi’ilani Solaita led the team with a career-high 20 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Victoria Marthaler had 17 kills and senior middle blocker Ashlynn Archer had 11.
All four lead changes in the game came in the first set.
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Due to injury, the Hornets traveled without two of their defensive specialists, junior Reese Ampi and freshman Amy Ito. Senior defensive specialist Abbey Kadillak got the start.
“We had two players get a little injured in practice this week,” head coach Ruben Volta said. “But they should be back hopefully next week.”
To start, the Hornets and Bengals traded points but each exchange was earned with no point coming easy. At 9-8, the Hornets went on a 4-point run to take the lead 12-9 thanks to a couple of errors made by Idaho State. Solaita, Marthaler and Archer combined for nine of those points.
Sac State didn’t trail the entire first set with said trio scoring 13 of the 25 points and the Bengals holding the errors advantage 7-4. The Hornets clinched set one comfortably with a score of 25-17.
.@SacStateVB weekend recap as they went 2-0 on their road trip:
Here’s some highlights in game 1 vs. @IdahoStateVB
Ashlynn Archer led the way with 2 early points to get the Hornets out to a lead pic.twitter.com/XZ68EBVkBK
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 4, 2025
Set two mirrored the first with both teams being tied at eight. Sophomore middle blocker Skyler Gartin went on a 3-0 run by herself, which was finished off with a kill from senior setter Kate Doorn. It brought the score to 12-8.
The Bengals did not bring the score within three points after that as Sac State won another comfortable set, 25-20.
In set 2 to break the tie at 8, Skyler Gartin went on a 3-0 run by herself pic.twitter.com/lars85ERo9
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 4, 2025
Set three saw Idaho State exercise some of their frustrations as they jumped out to an 11-3 lead with the Hornets committing five errors early on. Solaita and Marthaler had seven kills a piece, but it was not enough as the Bengals took the set, 25-20.
“I thought in that third set, they kind of beat on us and we just didn’t play very well,” Volta said. “But we really got rolling in the fourth set again.”
Set 3 was a dominant set for @IdahoStateVB but Marthaler and Solaita continued their damage pic.twitter.com/rf3It3uS87
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 4, 2025
Rolling is right, as the Hornets returned to dominate the court, getting out to a 6-1 lead behind three Archer kills. Sac State kept the pressure, jumping out to a 14-4 lead as Solaita punched home two kills. Solaita turned up the heat, going on a solo 3-0 run, making it 17-5.
Solaita scored five of the next 10 Hornet points. Sac State cruised to a 25-16 win to clinch game one.
Here’s Solaita finishing off where she started. She had 7 kills in the final set helping the Hornets clinch the W pic.twitter.com/HWmNqBFcZl
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 4, 2025
Game two on Saturday versus the Weber State Wildcats marked the long-awaited return of Marthaler to her old school. Going in, Weber State had been 8-1 at home and 5-0 at home against Big Sky opponents.
The Hornets played like a team with extra incentive. The Sac State defense was on full display, holding the blocks advantage 10-5 and holding the Wildcats to a .094 hit percentage. Marthaler, Solaita and Archer combined for 33 of the 39 total kills.
Archer admitted that there was some added motivation for their teammate’s homecoming.
“It was like an extra chip on our shoulder,” Archer said. “We already wanted to win but having that added fact that Vic[toria] came from there was definitely extra motivation.”
The Wildcats got out to a 4-2 lead before a huge 15-4 run by the Hornets made the score 17-8. Marthaler had five kills, while Archer and Solaita both had two. It was smooth sailing after that, with Sac State cruising to a 25-16 win in set one.
.@SacStateVB Weekend recap this time it’s vs. @weberstatevb
Set 1 saw a flame throwing Victoria Marthaler who had 5 kills alone in this video. Ashlynn Archer and Keona Solaita also had 2 kills apiece. pic.twitter.com/i8iX58mfbM
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 4, 2025
“I was definitely nervous before the game, and I missed my first swing but I just kept swinging,” Marthaler said. “Definitely a little settling in, but it didn’t take that long.”
Marthaler had previously admitted that she had some anticipation for this game too.
“It was so exciting to just be there and see people I knew,” Marthaler said. “Playing in my old gym was such a good feeling, especially to win and sweep.”
Set two was the most challenging set for the Hornets as the Wildcats kept it close early on until a Sac State 5-0 run put them up 13-9. As the Wildcats tried to keep it close, Marthaler was on a mission as she had three straight points to keep Sac State ahead, 16-13.
The two teams traded runs until a late push put the Wildcats ahead 24-23 and on the brink of winning. A kill from Archer, followed by two straight blocks from Gartin and Marthaler clinched the set, 26-24.
With the win-by-two rule, The Hornets had to come back down 24-23. It was the defense that stepped up as Marthaler and Skyler Gartin had 2 blocks to end it. pic.twitter.com/0t4qstfnKf
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 4, 2025
In set three, Sac State was tasked with an early deficit at 10-7. Solaita cut into the deficit with two straight kills, sparking a 5-0 run. Archer finished the run with a big block, making it 12-10. However, the Wildcats did not go down easy as they continued to trade runs with the Hornets.
At 15-13, an Archer kill inspired another 5-point run. Marthaler chipped in two kills too, taking the score to 19-13. Sac State traded out the set with the Wildcats finishing them off, 25-17, and clinching the sweeping.
The Hornets faced an early deficit 10-7 but went on a 5-point run to make it 12-7.
Solaita had 2 kills, Kate Doorn an ace and Archer finished it off with a block pic.twitter.com/S49pzdXWHP
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 4, 2025
The Hornets head back to Sacramento as winners of six straight games with a three-game homestand on deck. With only five games to go, the Hornets look in solid position for another run.
“Everyone in our conference has played so well at home so getting two road wins like this was so important and puts us in a really good spot,” Archer said. “We’re excited to be home for the next two weeks, and I think we’re in a really good position to win the conference.”
The Hornets resume play in The Nest, Thursday at 7 p.m. versus the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
