Weber State University Athletics

Thursday, September 21
Sacramento, CA
8:00 p.m.

Weber State University

2-11, 0-1Big Sky

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at
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Sacramento State

10-7, 1-0Big Sky

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2
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F
Weber State
21
25
22
23
1
Sacramento State
25
19
25
25
3
Amanda Varley vs.USU
Senior Amanda Varley posted her second double-double on the season against Sac State with 17 kills and 19 digs.
Photo by: Robert Casey

Wildcats fall in four sets to Sac State in Big Sky opener

9/21/2017 11:22:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Weber State volleyball started Big Sky Conference play with a four set loss to Sacramento State Thursday night.

"First off, what an incredible game," said head coach Jeremiah Larsen. "Both teams played extremely well and I loved the way we competed. Lastly, I feel like we are finally learning how to bring the proper intensity, focus, and effort to our games.  This was the most consistent we have played all year long and I am excited what this team is poised to do this year if we continue this progress. It's not the outcome we were hoping for. It stings a lot but we will use it to fuel us for Saturday and the rest of the season."

The Wildcats started the first set with an early 4-0 run and later pushed their way to a 16-12 lead. Sac State came back with a 9-1 run that gave them a 21-17 lead. The Hornets capitalized on the momentum and took the first game 25-21.

In the second set, the Wildcats jumped out to a 7-4 lead. With the help of two Sac State errors and a kill by Megan Gneiting and another by Aubrey Saunders the Wildcats went on a 4-0 run that gave them a 15-10 lead. The Hornets answered with a 4-0 run of their own but couldn't capture the lead as WSU maintained and pushed their lead to 23-19.

The second set was captured by the WIldcats with a kill by Saunders and a service ace by Gneiting for a score of 25-19. The two teams were tied at one set a piece going into the break.

A kill from Gneiting and second kill by Andrea Hale helped Weber State to a 4-0 start in the third set. WSU had a 16-13 but Sac State managed to tie things up at 17-17 and then held the Wildcats as the Hornets pushed for a 19-17 lead. Sac State had a pair of errors that brought the score to an even 20-20. The Hornets finished things out with a 5-2 run for a third set score of 25-22.

Weber State started out slow in the fourth set trailing 10-3 but made a late push with a 6-1 run that brought the score within two points. That momentum carried Weber State to a 7-1 run that gave them a 16-14 lead. The Hornets didn't back down however and came up with a 5-1 run and the 'Cats then trailed 19-17.

The Wildcats put up valiant efforts to fight for the fourth set win. Hannah Hill-DeYoung came up with two big kills and Amanda Varley put up another one. Later to put off the Hornets' victory, Gneiting hit another kill to bring the score to 24-23 but Sac State finished everything off with a kill and the Wildcats fell 25-23 in the fourth set and 3-1 in the overall match.

Weber State had four Wildcats in double digit kills with the leader being Varley who had 17 from 50 attacks with seven errors for an even .200 percentage.Varley had a double-double as she also led the defensive efforts with 19 digs.

Hale came up with 11 kills while Gnieting and Saunders each had 10. Ashlyn Power put up a new career high of 47 assists, her third time this season with 40 or more assists.

Thamires Cavalcanti contributed 14 digs to the Wildcats defensive cause and Saunders led the way with six blocks on the night.

WSU had 56 kills from 156 attacks with 17 errors for a .250 overall percentage. The 'Cats had 70 digs and nine total blocks. The Hornets put up 65 digs from 168 attacks with 21 errors for a .262 percentage. Sac State had 75 digs and 10 total team blocks.

Weber State now drops to 2-11 overall on the season and 0-1 in Big Sky Conference play. The weekend action will continue at Portland State at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Team Stats

WSU
SAC
Kills
56
65
Errors
17
21
Attempts
156
168
Hitting %
.250
.262
Points
70.0
78.0
Assists
53
63
Aces
5
3
Blocks
9.0
10.0

Game Leaders

Kills
17
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
2
Blocks
5
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
6

Players Mentioned

L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
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