The Week Ahead

• After 12 non-league matches, Sacramento State (4-8) will enter the Big Sky Conference portion of the schedule this week. In fact, the next 16 Hornet matches will be against Big Sky foes leading up to the conference tournament in Ogden, Utah, on Nov. 23-26.
• The Hornets open the conference slate on the road on Thursday at Idaho (3-9) at 6 p.m. The Big Sky home opener will be Saturday at 7 p.m. vs. Idaho State (8-5).
• Saturday's matchup will mark the first for the Hornets at home in three weeks. Thursday's matchup at Idaho will end a run of eight consecutive matches away from home for Sacramento State.
• Sacramento State is coming off a tournament in Bakersfield in which the Hornets went 1-2. That includes a win over tournament host CSU Bakersfield (3-2), and losses to Fresno State (3-2) and Pacific (3-0). The Fresno State loss was agonizing as the Hornets held a 2-1 lead, and a 23-18 advantage in the fourth set before the Bulldogs came back to win.
• The Hornets have won at least nine conference matches each of the last seven years. That includes a 10-6 mark each of the last three seasons. During that seven-year stretch, the Hornets have combined for an 80-35 league record, which includes a 2017 Big Sky regular season championship.
• There are 10 teams in the Big Sky, as Southern Utah is no longer in the league. Each team will play 16 conference matches. Sacramento State will play seven of those teams twice, and just once vs. Eastern Washington and Weber State.
• On Saturday, the Hornets will look to extend their home dominance of Big Sky teams at home. Last year, at Colberg Court, Sacramento State swept each of the last seven Big Sky teams it faced.

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 ESPN+. 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 or away - this year.

vs. This Week's Opponents

• Idaho will enter Thursday's game with a 3-9 record. After dropping each of their first nine matches of the season, the Vandals won three straight last week at a tournament hosted by Wyoming. Idaho currently ranks last in the Big Sky in kills (10.98 kps) and opponent hitting percentage (.248).
• The Hornets are 8-6 all-time vs. Idaho, and have won four straight in the series. That includes a five-set win (17-15 in the 5th) in the teams' lone matchup last year - Oct. 2 in Moscow.
• Each of the last seven meetings between the two teams have been decided in four or five sets.
• Sacramento State is 2-3 when playing on Idaho's home floor, and three of those five meetings went to five sets. That includes a 3-2 Idaho win in the Vandals' last win in the series on Sept. 28, 2018.
• Idaho State will bring an 8-5 record into this week, which includes a home contest vs. Northern Colorado on Thursday prior to making the trip to Sacramento.
• The Bengals are hitting just .186 as a team (9th in the Big Sky), but are limiting the opposition to a .185 mark (2nd in the Big Sky).
• Sacramento State is 38-16 all-time vs. Idaho State, and has won six of the last seven meetings. The Hornets are 22-5 when playing the Bengals in Sacramento. That includes eight straight wins at home in the series, and each of the last six have been decided via three-set sweep.

Against The Big Sky Conference

• Since joining the Big Sky in 1996, Sacramento State is 285-132 in conference play, which breaks down to a .683 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 three years. During that seven-year run, the Hornets have combined for an 80-35 Big Sky record, including a 50-7 mark at home.

Notables

• The Hornets rank second in the Big Sky in blocks per set (2.44), and 14th in the nation in overall blocks (122). Sacramento State posted at least 8.0 team blocks in each of the first 11 matches of the season until that streak was snapped with 3.0 vs. Pacific on Saturday.
• Leading the conference in blocks per set is middle blocker Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin (1.27). Fellow middle Kalani Hayes is 10th with 0.96 per set. Hayes has ranked among the Big Sky's top five players in hitting percentage the majority of the season, and is currently fifth with a .340 mark.
• Hayes was the Hornets' representative on last weekend's Central California Classic all-tourney team.
• Outside hitter Bridgette Smith, a first team all-Big Sky performer a year ago, is nearing 100% health after injuring her ankle in a game against Portland on Aug. 27. After the injury, she missed two matches, played at center back in another, then three straight at libero, and was back in her familiar six-rotation outside hitter position last week in Bakersfield.
• True freshman outside hitter Greta Davis has tallied double figures in kills in eight of her last nine matches. Of those eight occurrences, she has exactly 10 or 11 kills seven times.
• Outside hitter Caitlin Volkmann had her run of six straight 10+ kill matches end with nine at CSU Bakersfield. Volkmann, who has played on the left and right this year, leads the team with 2.67 kills per set. She posted a double-double (14 kills, 10 digs) at UC Davis.
• Setter Ashtin Olin, a four-time second team all-Big Sky selection, has solid averages of 8.78 assists, 2.54 digs and 0.78 blocks per set. She has six double-doubles this year, and is hitting .350.
• Libero Caty Cordano (798) is just two digs shy of 800 career digs.
• Smith has 19 aces in 147 service attempts, or one ace per 7.7 attempts.
• Karlee Soderberg, who was the starting rightside hitter averaging 2.31 kills and 0.85 blocks per set with a .333 hitting percentage, has missed the last 11 matches with injury.