Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Sacramento State
Wildcats defeat Hornets in five-set thriller
11/7/2014 6:29:00 AM | Athletics, Women's Volleyball
OGDEN, Utah – Taylor Christensen led the Wildcats to a five-set victory over Sacramento State on Thursday night, 26-24, 21-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-12. The redshirt freshman setter set a new career-high in three different categories during the match.
The win improves the Wildcats record to 7-21, 3-10 in Big Sky Conference play. Their win combined with losses by Southern Utah, Eastern Washington and Portland State keeps their hopes for making the Big Sky tournament alive.
“The biggest thing about the match was we did something that we have been working on for a long time,” WSU head coach Tom Peterson. “We were a lot better playing under pressure, especially in the fifth set when we fell behind. We did it a little bit better than they did in the key moments. It is a nice win for our fans, they have been great every match so far.”
Christensen played one, if not her best match in the purple and white. Her 61 assists, 14 digs and eight blocks were all career-highs and couldn't have come at a better time. It was her second consecutive double-double as she was two blocks shy of a triple-double. She also surpassed 1,000 assists on the season early in the first set, something that hadn't been done since 2007 when Kim Lissinna had 1,003.
The outside hitters for the Wildcats had success early and often against the Hornets. Audrey Biggs had a match-high 23 kills and Amanda Varley added a career-high 20 kills. Biggs now has 438 kills on the season, which puts her 10th for most kills in a single-season. She also sits three kills shy of becoming the 13th Wildcat to have 1,000 kills during their career.
Varley really came on strong when the Wildcats needed her as she bettered her career best by an astonishing 6 kills. She is now the third Wildcat this season to surpass the 20 kills in a single match.
The Wildcats were also able to find success up the middle as Megan Thompson had a season-best nine kills to go with her eight blocks. Samantha Staker had an impressive match with 6 kills and a career-high 15 digs.
McKay Tarbox continued to do what she has done her whole career as a Wildcat, keep the ball in the play. The senior libero added another 25 digs to her already outstanding career total of 1,118. Her season total of 422 is good for seventh for most digs in a single-season.
But it wasn't just the players that were setting career-highs or hitting the cover off the ball that helped the Wildcats win. The energy of Audrey Hunter in the fifth set not only revitalized her teammates but also the crowd. Emily Hairgrove had one of the best digs in all of college volleyball in the fifth set when the Wildcats really needed a point.
The Wildcats will host another key match this Saturday, November, 8 against Portland State. The Vikings will enter the match with a record of 7-18, 5-8 in Big Sky play.
