The Week Ahead

• After splitting a pair of road matches last week at Northern Arizona (W, 3-2) and Northern Colorado (L, 3-1), Sacramento State is back at home this week for matchups against the Montana schools.
• Saturday's loss at Northern Colorado ended an 11-match stretch where the Hornets played away from home 10 times. Sacramento State will get plenty of home cooking over the final seven weeks of the regular season as the team will play seven of its final 12 at home.
• The Hornets (7-9, 3-1) are one of five teams in the Big Sky with one conference loss or less. Sacramento State will take on two of those teams this week. That includes a matchup with Montana (10-5, 3-0) on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by a Saturday matinee vs. Montana State (6-9, 2-1) at 1 p.m.
• The Hornets will look to extend a run of home dominance against Big Sky opposition. Dating back to last season, Sacramento State has won eight straight home matches vs. conference competition, and each of those have resulted in three-set sweeps.
• The last time the Hornets lost (or dropped a set) at home to a Big Sky foe came on Oct. 7, 2021, in a three-set defeat against Northern Arizona.
• Sacramento State currently ranks among the nation's top 25 teams in both aces and blocks. The team is 15th in total blocks (164.0) and 23rd in aces (113).
• Thursday's match vs. Montana is Support a Hornet night, and a large crowd of student-athletes from other teams on campus is expected to be in attendance.
• Sacramento State has finished .500 or better in league play seven consecutive years, including a 10-6 mark each of the last two seasons.

Multimedia Options

• Every match the remainder of the season will be streamed live on ESPN+ as all home matches, and every contest played at a Big Sky venue will be streamed on the network. Video streams can be found on watchespn.com and the ESPN app.
• Reminder that all multimedia links, including video and live stats, can be found next to each game on the volleyball schedule at hornetsports.com.
• Live stats will be provided for every match - home and away - this year.

vs. This Week's Opponents

• Montana (10-5, 3-0) will enter Thursday's match as the lone team in the 10-member Big Sky without a conference loss. Two of those wins have come on the road, including a four-set road win in a rivalry showdown at Montana State last Friday.
• The Grizzlies have won five straight overall, three straight on the road, and are 7-4 away from home.
• Sacramento State is 35-15 all-time vs. Montana, and has won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two schools. The Hornets are 19-4 at home vs. the Grizzlies, including five straight home victories. The last time Montana won inside the Nest was Oct. 18, 2013 (a three-set sweep).
• Montana State, which plays at Portland State on Thursday, will bring a 6-9 overall record and 2-1 league mark into the week. The Bobcats began the conference year by beating Eastern Washington at home and Northern Colorado on the road, before Friday's loss to the Griz.
• The Bobcats are 4-3 away from Bozeman, including 2-2 on an opponent's home floor.
• Sacramento State has controlled the series with Montana State, 47-9. That includes an eye-opening 26-2 mark when the teams play in the Nest. The Bobcats' 3-1 victory in 2019 snapped a 23-match losing streak to the Hornets in Sacramento that dated back to 1997.
• The Hornets swept both Montana and Montana State at home last season in the final matches of the regular season.

Against The Big Sky Conference

• Since joining the Big Sky in 1996, Sacramento State is 288-133 in conference play, which breaks down to a .684 winning percentage.
• The Hornets won the Big Sky's regular season and/or tournament championships 11 straight years from 1997-07. Between 1999 and 2007, the Hornets won 59 straight home matches vs. Big Sky teams.
• Sacramento State's last Big Sky crown was a 2017 regular season championship, prior to falling in five sets in that season's Big Sky Tournament title match at home to North Dakota.
• The Hornets have finished .500 or above in league play seven straight seasons, including a 10-6 mark each of the last two years. During that seven-plus year run, the Hornets have combined for an 83-36 Big Sky record, including a 51-7 mark at home.

Notables

• Of Sacramento State's 16 matches, only four have been decided in three sets. Every match the Hornets have played has been tightly contested, except for its three-set sweeps of Saint Mary's and Idaho State. Even on the two occasions the Hornets were swept, the team lost each of those sets by six points or less.
• The middle blocker duo of Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin (1.25 bps) and Kalani Hayes (1.00 bps) rank first and seventh, respectively, in the Big Sky in blocks per set. Kamba-Griffin's 80 blocks rank 17th in the nation, and the duo has been a big part of the Hornets ranking second in the Big Sky with 2.48 bps.
• Outside hitter Bridgette Smith, a first team all-Big Sky performer a year ago, continues to show she is nearing 100% health after an ankle injury left her sidelined or limited in nine straight matches. She has been on a roll of late, accumulating 13+ kills in four straight matches, including a career-best 24 at NAU. Her average of 4.38 kills per set in league play is the top mark in the Big Sky.
• Libero Caty Cordano, who set the program record with 43 digs on Thursday at NAU, is averaging a whopping 6.19 digs per set in league play, easily the best mark in the Big Sky. The 43 digs are the fifth best tally by any Div. I player this season.
• Outside hitter Caitlin Volkmann has been very good in league play, averaging 3.13 kills with a .307 hitting percentage, marks which rank 10th and 7th, respectively, in the Big Sky. That includes a career-high 20 kills and .594 hitting percentage in the Big Sky opening win at Idaho two weeks ago.
• Setter Ashtin Olin, who has been named second team all-Big Sky each of the last four years, is now 26th in the nation with 613 assists. Including her season-best 59 assists at NAU, the sixth-year senior is currently putting up healthy averages of 0.64 kills, 9.29 assists, 2.52 digs, 0.77 blocks and a .291 hit%.
• Karlee Soderberg, who was the starting rightside hitter the first three matches averaging 2.31 kills and 0.85 blocks per set with a .333 hitting percentage, has missed the last 15 contests with injury.