CONFERENCE STREAK OVER FOR CSUN : SAC. STATE 3 CSUN 2.

Byline: Rizza Yap Daily News Staff Writer

It wasn't quite deja vu.

The last time Cal State Northridge faced Sacramento State, the Matadors overcame a two-game deficit to claim the Big Sky Conference championship.

But Thursday night at the Matadome, Northridge found itself on the opposite side of the hurdle.

After establishing a 2-0 lead - which produced 13 digs and 11 kills from junior outside hitter Nancy Ma, 10 kills from middle blocker Crystal Newquist and 10 digs from freshman outside hitter Kristin Sigel - the Matadors' Big Sky conference winning streak was ended when they gave up the final three games to Sacramento, which won 13-15, 7-15, 15-12, 16-14, 15-6.

The loss also halted a record 63 straight home conference wins for the Matadors, who registered a 16-0 conference record last season and won the first two Big Sky matches this year.

Northridge's hitting percentage jumped from .146 in the first game to .400 in the second but fell under .100 in the final games. Ma, who tallied a team-high 26 kills also posted a career-high 30 digs. Sigel's 32 digs was also a career best. Newquist, who averages 3.15 kills per game, ended the match with 18.

The first game was marked by four three-point rallies for the Matadors, who fall to 8-4, 2-1. The Hornets (9-4, 3-1) captured a one-point lead late in the game and tied the score at 13 before a block from Goth and a kill by Ma closed out the game.

Northridge cruised to an easy victory in the second game, trailing only when Sacramento scored the first point. But the Hornets played a more aggressive game in the third, offsetting an early 2-0 Northridge lead with seven unanswered points. Down 11-7, the Matadors tried to take control of the match with their own six-point rally, which included two points from Sigel and a block combination from Newquist and setter Ellie Flato.

The fourth was by far the closest game of the match, with the score tied six times - the final time at 14.