The Nevada women’s volleyball team went 2-1 in the Sacramento State Invitational. The Wolf Pack are 2-1 overall as they open the season with upcoming tournaments at San Francisco and Portland State. 

Friday, Aug. 30 vs. CSU Bakersfield

Nevada took the first game against CSU Bakersfield with a score of 3-1. 

The Wolf Pack battled back in the first set, but the Roadrunners kept a close lead to win 25-21. Kili Robbins recorded two-straight kills to give the Pack a 2-0 lead. Nevada padded the lead to 11-6 with a kill by Camryn Rocha. 

CSU Bakersfield took over from there, scoring seven unanswered points to take a slim 13-11 advantage. The Roadrunners tacked on five more points in the final stages of the contest to go up 24-20. Sydney Petersen tallied a point in Nevada’s favor, but CSU Bakersfield closed out the win in the very next possession. 

Nevada bounced back in the second set with a 25-16 victory. The Wolf Pack ripped off three-straight points to start the match. Kills by Kassie McGill and Kayla Afoa capped-off seven unanswered points to give Nevada a 16-7 advantage. Afoa and Peterson took care of the rest to help the Wolf Pack win the second set. 

The Pack’s momentum carried over to the third and fourth sets. Nevada scored four unanswered points on two separate occasions to take the third match 25-16. The Wolf Pack continued this dominance by tallying six-straight points to take the fourth set 25-21. 

Nevada posted a .246 hitting percentage over the four sets against CSU Bakersfield.

Friday, Aug. 30 vs. Canisius College

The Wolf Pack split the two-game contests with a 3-2 defeat to Canisius College.

Afoa and Burns both recorded double-doubles in the loss. Afoa had 18 kills and 18 digs while Burns had 58 assists and 16 digs. Petersen, Brianna Souza and Rocha all had double-digit kills. 

Nevada took the first set 25-23 with a nail-biting finish. Down 23-22 in the waning moments, Nevada railed off three-straight points to secure the win with kills from Petersen and McGill. 

Canisius responded with a 25-20 win in the second set. The Griffins rallied to score five unanswered points, taking a 17-13 lead in the process. Nevada answered with three-straight points of its own, but Canisius’ attack down the stretch was too much to handle for the Pack.

Nevada took the third set 25-10 fueled by the dynamic trio of Afoa, Petersen and Souza accounting for 12 points combined. The Griffins responded with a 25-21 victory to force a fifth and final set. 

The Wolf Pack started strong, leading 5-1 with two kills from Ryan Blackwood. Canisius battled back with four unanswered points to take a 13-10 advantage. The Griffins closed it out with tight defense and won 15-12. 

Saturday, Aug. 31 at Sacramento State

Nevada took the third game of the tournament by storm with a 3-1 victory over Sacramento State. 

Sacramento State took the first set 25-22. Both teams matched each other point-for-point for most of the contest. Kills by Petersen and Afoa tied the game 18-18. But the Hornets scored four consecutive points to seal the victory. 

Nevada bounced back in the second set, 25-20. The Wolf Pack jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead with several attack errors by Sacramento State. Nevada took full advantage of the Hornets’ mental mistakes and led 17-9. However, Sacramento State clawed back into the contest with four unanswered points, but the Pack closed out the second set on a high note.

The Pack took the third set 25-20 and topped it off with a 29-27 overtime win in the fourth game. Kaila Spevak had two service aces in the fourth game to help the Pack build an early lead. Afoa and Petersen combined for 21 kills. Nevada had a .190 hitting percentage, but kept the ball in play with 92 digs and 13 blocks over the four games. 

Nevada women’s volleyball stays on the west coast for the San Francisco Tournament on Sept. 6. 

Isaiah Burrows can be reached at rfreeberg@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @SagebrushSports.