Women's volleyball takes two

The CSUS women's volleyball team is on a roll of late, winning games with almost a stress-free air about them. They showed that in their matches against the Idaho State Bengals on Friday and the Weber State Wildcats on Saturday, posting three-game sweeps against both teams to improve to 10-6, which shot them into sole possession of first place in the Big Sky.

In the 15-6, 15-5, 15-7 victory over the Bengals, the Hornets were led by Carissa Buie with 15 kills and Esther Rogers with 10 digs. Maureen Rafferty, who had eight digs, and Rebekah Capel, with her eight kills, also contributed solid performances that helped shut down the Bengals.

The Hornet bench was tapped into frequently and thoroughly throughout the game. All 13 players-- including nine with kills-- put their skills to the test. Penny Sneddon led the Bengals with seven kills and Vanessa Lamborn with 10 digs in their losing effort.

Also helping decide the outcome of the match was the Hornets' strong .248 hitting percentage overall, including a high .327 in the third game alone, compared to the Bengals' tawdry .042 percentage overall, and coming up short with .193 in the third match.

The ISU loss dropped their record to 6-8 overall and a conference-worst 0-4. CSUS' record improved to 9-6 overall and 4-1 in conference.

Then, in the 15-8, 15-2, 15-8 upset victory over the Wildcats, the Hornets were led by Buie with a career-high six aces and Sarah Chlebana with four. Among other players contributing solid performances were Angela Lewis with nine kills and seven digs, and Sarah Chlebana with seven kills and eight digs. As a team, the Hornets collected a season-high 13 aces, including five in the third game alone.

The Wildcats were led by Melissa Leonard with nine kills and JoLynne Godfrey with eight digs in the losing effort.

The loss dropped WSU's record to 8-9 overall and 3-2 in conference play, while the Hornets' record improved to 10-6 overall and 5-1 in conference, good enough for first place and a half-game in front of University of Northern Arizona, which played a night match on Saturday.

In the opening game, the Hornets hit only .036 but managed to make sure that the Wildcats didn't do much better, shoving four aces down their throats and holding them to a .000 hitting percentage in a 15-8 win.

In the second game, WSU scored the first two points but then lost the next 15 in a row to CSUS to decide the game. The Hornets notched a scorching .474 hitting percentage and collected another four aces in that game.

In the third and final game, the Wildcats hit much better than they had in the first two, firing at a .302 clip. But the Hornets offset that heat by racking up yet five more aces to clinch the 15-8 decision.

CSUS' next match will be against the Cardinals at Stanford. The next six matches will be on the road, and the next home game will be against the UC Berkeley Bears on Oct. 27.