Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Sacramento State
Wildcats defeat Hornets in five-set thriller
10/4/2014 11:29:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SACRAMENTO, California – The Weber State women's volleyball found a way to get it done against Sacramento State on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats put the Hornets away in five-sets, 25-17, 26-24, 8-25, 21-25, 16-14. The victory was their first conference win of the season and in a five-set match.
The win improves the Wildcat's record to 4-12 overall, 1-3 in Big Sky play.
Audrey Biggs led the Wildcats with 19 kills but it was a true team effort on that attacking end. They had four other players with over six kills being led by Amanda Varley with 8 kills. Taylor Christensen had a match-high 40 assists, 5 blocks and 4 digs and McKay Tarbox had a team-high 14 digs.
Audrey Hunter continued her stellar play as she had a math-high 6 blocks and Megan Thompson added 3.
“I thought we came out really well in the first two sets,” WSU head coach Tom Peterson said. “It feels really good to get a win, especially on the road. We showed again that we are a really good team when we are on but struggle when we don't focus.”
The Wildcats dominated the first set behind the 6 kills of Ciera Borho, as the Hornets struggled to contain her. The team didn't allow the Hornets to gain any momentum to come back as they scored five of the last eight points.
The second set was highlighted by an early run by the Wildcats to give them an early advantage. But the Vikings rallied to take a late lead and a serve for the set. But Samantha Staker had a crucial service ace and two errors from the Vikings gave the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage.
The third set is one that the Wildcats will want to erase from their memory. After the Wildcats jumped out to a 6-1 lead, the Hornets scored 24 of the next 26 points to win the set. At one point, the Hornets had five consecutive service aces.
The Hornets kept their momentum going into the fourth set as they held a comfortable lead the whole set. The Wildcats brought the set within four points near the end but their rally was cut short.
The fifth set was one of for the ages as the Wildcats fought their way back for the victory. After holding a early 7-3 lead, the Hornets fought back to take a 14-13 lead. The Hornets served for the match but a kill from Staker gave the Wildcats life. Back-to-back blocks from the Wildcats finished off the comeback and gave them their first conference win.
The Wildcats will return to action next weekend when they host North Dakota and Northern Colorado at Swenson Gym.
