Reno, Nev. - The University of Nevada (7-9) volleyball team swept Sacramento State (4-15) 28-26, 25-21 and 25-18 in a nonconference match at the Virginia Street Gym tonight. The win was the second in a row for the Wolf Pack as they improved to 7-9 on the season while the Hornets dropped to 4-15.
There were 14 ties and six lead changes in the first set before the Pack escaped with the 28-26 victory. Nevada needed just one point leading 25-24 but the Hornets scored the next two points to put themselves in line for victory with just one more point leading 26-25. A Sac State attack error tied the score at 26-26 and Pack sophomore middle blocker Lindsay Baldwin served an ace to give Nevada a 27-26 advantage. The first set ended on an attack error by the Hornets Kelsey Elston. Offensively Nevada hit .186 and Sac State .081 in set one.
Set two was also back and forth with 12 ties and eight lead changes but Nevada prevailed 25-21 to take a 2-0 lead in the match. With the set all knotted at 20-20 the Pack put together a 5-1 run to close out the set. Back-to-back attack errors by Sac State gave Nevada the final two points it needed to win the set. Both offenses struggled in set two posting negative attack percentages, Nevada at .053 and Sac State .023.
The final set of the match was the most lopsided as Nevada used an 8-1 run to break a 5-5 tie to move in front 13-6 and were never challenged in winning the set 25-18 and match 3-0. Sophomore middle blocker Brittni Yates who had just been inserted into the lineup for the first time in the match prior to the final play recorded the kill off an assist from junior setter Sonnie Sei to end the match. The Pack posted their best attack percentage of the night at .233 as did Sac State at .143.
Baldwin tied for match-high honors as she was the only Pack player in double figures finishing with 10 kills. Junior Jorgan Staker and sophomore Kylie Harrington each added eight. Sei dished out a match-high 33 assists. Senior outside hitter Allison Hernandez and sophomore libero Nicole Link tied for match-high honors with 13 digs each.
Desiree Hoyum led the Hornets with 10 kills which tied Baldwin for match-high honors and she also topped the team with 11 digs to post a double-double. Setter Rose Burke finished with 26 assists.
Nevada hit .117 in the match and Sac State .056. The Pack won the blocking battle 10-7. Baldwin topped the Pack with seven blocks, one solo and six assisted. Elston had five for the Hornets, one solo and four assisted.
Nevada travels to Fresno State on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. Western Athletic Conference match with the Bulldogs.
