Taking sole possession of first place in the Big Sky Conference, the Sac State volleyball team pummeled the Montana State Bobcats in three games (15-10, 15-13, 15-5) on Thursday night at Hornet Gym.
The Bobcats beat the Hornets in five games last week when Sac State traveled to Montana. This time the Hornets were looking for revenge.
"It was a personal thing, we showed that we are a better team," said sophomore outside hitter Jayme Wright.
With the victory, the Hornets, who are now 14-9 overall and 7-2 in the conference, sit one game in front of Montana State, Northern Arizona and Cal State Northridge, who are all tied for second place with 6-3 records.
The first game was a reality check for Montana State as the Hornets jumped out on top with a 10-2 lead. The Bobcats held on the best they could, but it wasn't good enough, as the Hornets' front line raked in the kills.
Senior Sarah Chlebana led the Hornets at the net with 20 kills, while Wright followed with 16, junior Tasman Dwyer took home 12 and Esther Rogers cleaned up with 11. Rogers committed only two hitting errors in 22 total attempts and crippled the Bobcats with a match-high eight blocks.
Coach Debby Colberg was pleased with the team victory.
"We made a nice comeback in game two. We were down 9-3 and came back to win it," Colberg said, "This is a nice team to work with, they all want to work hard and do well."
In the third game Montana State took an early lead (4-1), but the Hornets quickly redeemed themselves and claimed 14 of the next 15 points to wrap up the night.
The Hornets host Weber State tomorrow at 7 p.m at Hornet Gym. The Wildcats beat the Hornets in three straight games earlier in the season, when the schools met in Ogden, Utah.
