MOSCOW, Idaho—The Idaho Vandals suffered its first home loss of the season Thursday night. The Sacramento State Hornets remained undefeated in the Big Sky Conference, sweeping the Vandals in three sets.

Sacramento State (18-7, 9-0 BSC) closed Idaho's five-match win streak in the matchup of the two of the top teams in the conference. The Hornets hold a two-match lead over Portland State. The loss drops Idaho into a tie for the top spot in the Big Sky North with North Dakota.

"They [Sacramento State] are a really solid team," head coach Debbie Buchanan explained. "We talked about that. We always talk about our errors and managing those. Really, that was the difference in the match."



Idaho (12-8, 7-2 BSC) had a trio of juniors finish the night with double-figure kills. Sarah Sharp led all players with a match-high 15 kills. Kaela Straw was right there with her, recording 14. Reece Carman hit closed with 10 kills while .450 percent.

"We need to get our middles more involved," Buchanan added. "We have to block the ball a little bit more than we are right now."

The first set was played evenly throughout. Both sides totaled 17 kills in the opener. The Vandals opened the night hitting .368 percent. Sacramento State was right there as well, hitting .361. The frame included 15 ties and three lead changes. The Hornets were able to tie the match at 19 and record the next point to take the lead, breaking a back and forth pattern. Sharp evened the set at 20, but Sacramento State came back with the next two points. That was enough of a cushion to hold off Idaho in the set, 25-23.

The Vandals looked to be on track to tie the match in the second set. Idaho opened with an 8-4 start to jump out early. Sac State answered with a 12-2 run that pushed the Hornets to a 16-10 lead. Kills from Torrin Crawford and Sharp helped Idaho close the gap late, 23-20. The Hornets recorded the final two points winning the set, 25-20.

The third set played more like the first with 10 ties and three lead changes. Straw totaled six kills in the finale for the Vandals. Idaho used late kills from Sharp, Klaree Hobart and Carman to go on a 3-0 run, regaining a 19-18 lead. The Vandals lead lasted up to 22-21. Sacramento State regained control in the final stretch, using a 4-1 run to clinch the match, 25-23.

Lana Brown led the Hornets with 12 kills and a .632 hitting percentage. Mikaela Nocetti and Shannon Boyle both finished with 11 kills.

The Vandals host Portland State on Saturday. The Vikings swept Eastern Washington in Cheney on Thursday. The match figures to have some significance in the Big Sky Tournament seeding. Both teams hold a 7-2 conference record.