The Week Ahead

• Fresh off competing in the season-opening Sacramento State Invitational, the Hornets (1-2) will play twice this week, including once on the road and once at home.
• The Hornets begin this week's slate of matches on Wednesday when they travel to Moraga to take on Saint Mary's (0-2) at 7 p.m. Sacramento State is back in the Nest on Saturday when it hosts San Jose State (2-1) at 2 p.m.
• After the San Jose State matchup, the Hornets will embark upon a stretch that will see the team play a season-high eight straight matches away from home.
• Last week, the Hornets went 1-2 at their two-day tournament, beating Nevada (3-1), and losing to both Middle Tennessee (3-2) and Portland (3-1).
• With a couple bounces, Sacramento State could have just as easily been 3-0 last week as the team lost in close fashion to both Middle Tennessee (15-13 in the 3rd), and Portland (26-24 in the 4th).
• The Hornets used the same starters in all three matches last week - Bridgette Smith and Caitlin Volkmann at outside hitter, Kalani Hayes and Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin at middle blocker, Karlee Soderberg at rightside hitter, Ashtin Olin at setter, and Caty Cordano at libero.
• Smith already had a career-high 22 kills when she went down with an ankle injury in the fourth set against Portland and the Hornets leading, 11-6. Smith would not return, and the Hornets would go on to lose that set, 26-24.
• Smith, who currently leads the Big Sky with 4.38 kills per set and is a reigning first team all-league selection, is questionable to play on Wednesday vs. the Gaels.

Multimedia Options

• Both matches this week will be video streamed online. Wednesday's game will be streamed on the WCC Network, and Saturday's contest will be streamed on ESPN+. Reminder that all multimedia links for every game can be found next to each game on the volleyball schedule at hornetsports.com.
• Live stats will also be provided for both matches.
• For the second straight year, all home matches, and every match played at a Big Sky Conference venue, will be streamed on ESPN+. Matches on ESPN+ can be found on watchespn.com and the ESPN app.

vs. This Week's Opponents

• The Hornets are a combined 37-18 all-time against this week's opponents.
• Sacramento State is 27-10 vs. Saint Mary's, but the Gaels have won four straight and six of the last seven meetings between the two teams. The Hornets will be seeking their first win over the Gaels since a sweep in Moraga on Sept. 23, 2006. The two teams have played just four times since then, including a 3-2 Saint Mary's win last season in the Nest.
• The Hornets have enjoyed success in Moraga, which includes a 14-2 record when playing Saint Mary's on its home floor. That included 10 straight road wins over the Gaels between 1978-96.
• Sacramento State is 10-8 all-time vs. San Jose State, and the two teams have played just once since 2015. That was a 3-0 Spartan win in San Jose a year ago.
• The Hornets are 4-3 when playing the Spartans at home, and the two teams have not played each other in the Nest since a 3-0 Spartan win on Sept. 6, 2013.

Wrapping Up The 2021 Season

• Sacramento State concluded the 2021 season with a 16-12 overall record and 10-6 mark in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets went 12-4 at home, 3-7 on the road, and 1-1 at neutral sites.
• The Hornets won eight of the final nine matches of the regular season before losing in heartbreaking fashion in the Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal round (3-2 loss to Portland State, 15-13 in the 5th).
• One of the more impressive aspects from last season was the sheer dominance at home during Sacramento State's second half of the schedule. The team won its final eight home matches, and all came via three-set sweep. That included sweeps of the Big Sky's first, second and third place teams, as well as a sweep of Boise State which won the Mountain West Tournament championship.
• The Hornets ran a 6-2 offense all last season, and thus far have run a traditional 5-1 offesne in 2022.
• The Hornets had four players named to the all-Big Sky team, and three of them are back in 2022. That includes outside hitter Bridgette Smith (1st team), middle blocker Kalani Hayes (2nd team), and setter Ashtin Olin (2nd team).

A Young Team, But Strong Core of Returners Will Lead The Way

• Of Sacramento State's 15 players on this season's roster, seven are freshmen which is the most newcomers on a Hornet roster since the 2014 squad had eight incoming players.
• While that may seem like a rebuilding year on paper, it definitely will not be a rebuild. That's because the Hornets bring back a strong core of eight returners that all started matches last season.
• Among this year's returners are starters at outside hitter (Bridgette Smith and Caitlin Volkmann), setter (Ashtin Olin), middle blocker (Kalani Hayes) and libero (Caty Cordano). In addition, rightside hitter Karlee Soderberg (13), middle blocker Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin (12) and rightside hitter Ellie Tisko (1) also return after starting matches a year ago.

Lots Of Notables

•  Sacramento State currently ranks among the top three Big Sky teams in digs (1st, 16.38 dps), kills (3rd, 12.77 kps) and blocks (3rd, 2.77 bps). In addition, the team ranks among the top 40 in the nation in both blocks (35th) and digs (36th) per set.
• Speaking of defense, none of three opponents thus far have hit better than .224 against the Hornets. That includes .088 by Nevada, .113 for Middle Tennessee, and .224 for Portland.
• Setter Ashtin Olin now has 3,287 career assists, and needs just 84 assists to move past Christine Seifert and into seventh place all-time on Sacramento State's all-time list.
• Outside hitter Bridgette Smith's 173 total attacks are the third most in the nation, and Olin's 136 assists are the sixth most. Smith also has accounted for 68.5 points this year, which ranks as the seventh best mark in the country.
• Libero Caty Cordano ranks second in the Big Sky with 4.85 digs per set. She has at least 16 digs in each match, and has gone over the 20 mark twice: 25 vs. Nevada, 22 vs. Middle Tennessee.
• Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin (5th, 1.38 bps) and Kalani Hayes (9th, 1.23 bps) both rank among the Big Sky's top 10 players in blocks per set.
• Despite playing just 45 matches in her career, Smith is just four kills shy of 600 for her career.
• Rightside hitter Karlee Soderberg has hit better than .300 in all three matches thus far, and is hitting .333 (30-8-66) with averages of 2.31 kills and 0.85 blocks per set. That included 11 kills and a .400 hitting percentage against Middle Tennessee.
• Middle blocker Kalani Hayes is off to a very nice start, having hit at least .333 in all three matches. In fact, her .404 hitting percentage ranks second in the Big Sky, and she is averaging 1.77 kills and 1.23 blocks per set.