With Senior Night drawing families and filling The Nest, the Hornets squared off against the Portland State Vikings in an electric atmosphere, ending with a wild finish.
The six seniors honored were: middle blockers Ashlynn Archer and Karlie Spohn, defensive specialists Mia Guevara and Abbey Kaddillak, outside hitter Greta Davis and setter Kate Doorn.
The key moment of the game came in the fourth set, with the Hornets down 26-25, facing a potential fifth set. The rally began with an aggressive Vikings serve but the Hornet defense matched the intensity.
Archer contributed to two shared blocks, one with freshman outside hitter Keonahi’ilani Solaita and one with Davis. Junior libero Reese Ampi delivered a highlight-worthy dig.
Sophomore outside hitter Victoria Marthaler followed with two back-row digs, and Davis tried to surprise the defense but was blocked. Amid the chaos, the block deflected off Archer, setting up Solaita for a quick punch kill that tied the match at 26, sending the crowd into a roar.
Set 4
And if it weren’t for the controversial ending, this exchange would be the play of the game. It was punctuated by a Solaita kill to tie the score at 26.
The teams would trade another couple points being tied at 28 before the controvery ensued. pic.twitter.com/uUdW3C0QgT
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 17, 2025
“I was locked, and I tried to smile, but I was too focused,” Marthaler said. “I told myself, ‘Nothing’s dropping, nothing’s getting past me, and if I get set, I’m getting this kill.’”
The game was filled with emotion as not only was it the seniors’ last game at home, but it was the last home game as a member of the Big Sky Conference, where Sac State has resided for 30 years. The Hornets will join the Big West Conference starting next season.
“Our last two home matches were pretty emotional, and I hope to play steadier than that,” head coach Ruben Volta said. “But I was really happy with how hard we played at the end of this match.”
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Archer echoed that emotion as she remained focused on getting through the season.
“This is such a special group of girls so this night definitely is a big one we’ve been looking forward to. It’s very bittersweet,” Archer said. “But I’m just trying not to think about it too much because we still got games to play.”
The first set ended in dramatic fashion, taking more than 25 points to determine a winner.
Portland State jumped on the Hornets quickly, getting out to a 5-1 lead. The Vikings bench players were loud, breaking out into multiple chants early on. Sac State dug into the deficit, getting kills from Doorn, Spohn and Solaita to make it 8-6.
After trading points, Solaita punched home a kill to start a 3-point run, bringing the Hornets within one, 11-10. Thanks to a few Hornet errors, Portland State mounted a lead again, extending the score to 17-13. After a Viking error, the senior-duo of Doorn and Archer answered back with a monumental block to make it 17-15.
Set 1
Seniors Kate Doorn and Ashlynn Archer had big time games to keep the Hornets in this one. Here’s a block they had to bring them closer, 17-15 pic.twitter.com/zK0ZS5dm6D
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 17, 2025
That’s where things got interesting. After the Vikings went up 19-16, Solaita started another run, but this time it was a 6-1 run to push the Hornets ahead 22-20.
Marthaler had two kills in that span, but the main event was Archer and Davis pairing for a block followed by a signature Archer kill. Marthaler pushed the Hornets up 23-21 with another kill, but the Vikings made a late 3-1 run to tie the set at 24 and trigger the “win-by-two” rule.
The veteran savvyness of Doorn showed up as she used a quick tip over the net to put Portland State on the brink. Solaita finished the set with a power kill and Sac State won the first set, 26-24.
Set 1
Doorn has a tip to set up the match point for the Hornets, 25-24 pic.twitter.com/QKr1Tl4fSI
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 17, 2025
“There was definitely some extra motivation,” Doorn said. “Before the game, everyone was like, ‘We’re going to play for the seniors,’ and that felt really good. It gave me a little chip on my shoulder.”
Set two didn’t exactly live up to the drama that set one had. The set began with both teams trading points and PSU got out to an early 6-5 lead. The Vikings then ripped off seven straight kills to go up 13-5.
Sac State bounced back, trading points until they went on a 4-point run to draw closer, 16-13, finally showing some momentum in an up and down set. The Hornets traded points with Marthaler leading the way scoring four straight points to keep Sac State close behind, 20-17.
After an amazing block at the net by Doorn, the Hornets had some momentum down, 21-19. A successful challenge by the PSU coach sucked the air out of the gym as it overturned a point,making the score 22-19 in favor of the Vikings.
Sac State head coach Ruben Volta was not pleased with the call and made it known. The Hornets kept it close, but the Vikings shut the door emphatically winning the set, 25-22. Of the final nine points, Marthaler accounted for four and Solaita two.
Set 2
The comeback was cut short by a challenge that overturned the Sac State point giving the Vikings a 22-19 lead. Coach Volta was not happy. pic.twitter.com/DZIbEI9hQR
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 17, 2025
The third set felt very disciplined for the Hornets and the presence of the crowd had The Nest buzzing. Sac State led the entire set and served really clean, getting two aces and only committing three service errors.
The Hornets also dominated the hitting percentage stat, hitting .211 compared to the Vikings percentage of .111. Spohn, who started the season injured and has worked her way back into the rotation, had some good moments in this set too.
Sac State had a solid lead early, up 9-4, only to watch it crumble with PSU coming back to make the score 9-7. The Hornets answered with an explosive 8-0 run to make the lead 17-7. It was a team effort with Marthaler, Spohn, Solaita and Doorn all scoring a kill.
Doorn and Spohn also had a shared block. The teams traded points, with PSU going on a run to make the score 20-15. The momentum had belonged to the Hornets at this point, and the deficit became too much as Sac State cruised to a 25-18 set three win.
Set 3
Karlie Spohn had a couple great plays to keep the Hornets in this one. This one put Sac State up 14-7 pic.twitter.com/4nJFlbeWpR
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 17, 2025
The fourth set was a tough battle, with both teams duking it out for the win. It took 30 points to determine a winner. The set started out with Marthaler and Davis putting up points early, scoring five of the first seven points.
Sac State was up 7-6 and went on a 6-1 run, with Spohn heating up with two kills and a shared block with Doorn. The Vikings answered with a 5-1 run of their own to close the gap, 14-12.
After trading points, Portland State took their first lead of the game at 19-18 with an ace. Spohn answered with a kill and another shared block with Doorn, retaking the lead, 20-19.
The Vikings managed to retake the lead, 21-20, but Marthaler and two straight Solaita kills gave the Hornets the upper hand at 23-21. PSU clawed their way back with a 4-1 run to put the Hornets on the brink, 25-24.
Coach Volta took a Sac State timeout and the gym exploded with, “Let’s go Hornets,” chants breaking out, and everyone rose to their feet. Fresh out of the timeout, Solaita punched home a kill to tie the game at 25. The Vikings took the lead again, 26-25, and that’s when the Hornet heroics began.
Set 4
After a tense back and forth, the Hornets were put on the ropes facing a game-point. Here was a kill punched home by Solaita to even up the score at 25. pic.twitter.com/URbvWXQn5R
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 17, 2025
Tied at 26, after a Solaita kill, Marthaler punched another clutch kill to put them up 27-26. The Vikings responded with a kill of their own, and both teams traded points, again tying the game at 28.
On the next rally, the Vikings’ leading scorer, freshman outside hitter Alivia Eikenberg, was whistled for a “lift,” awarding the Hornets the point. A lift is when a player catches or has prolonged contact with the ball before hitting it.
Portland State head coach Michael Seemann was livid with the call and was issued his second yellow card of the game, which rewarded the other team with a point. Since this was the match point for the Hornets, it ended up being the winning point for the game. The end of the game was wrought with confusion before the head referee called it in favor of Sac State.
Here’s the play in set 4,
After a PSU “lift” call set up game point for the Hornets, the already-carded coach had a conversation with the ref and was given another yellow, making it a red and awarding the Hornets the final point.
A lift is prolonged contact with the ball pic.twitter.com/4JrFm78Ane
— Alex Grado (@AGknwID) November 17, 2025
Staff and coaches murmured about never having seen anything like that before. Volta admitted, even though the team won, it wasn’t how he would’ve liked.
“I didn’t like it to be honest,” Volta said. “I would have rather it be decided on the court but things happen.”
The Hornets will now finish off the regular season on the road for their final two matches. The first of those will take place Wednesday, Nov. 19 against the Eastern Washington Eagles. The match will be available to stream on ESPN+.
