The Week Ahead

• Riding a five-match winning streak, Sacramento State (12-7, 5-0) will begin a four-game homestand this week with a pair of matchups. That includes Thursday vs. Weber State (11-5, 4-1) and Saturday vs. Idaho State (3-13, 1-4). Both will begin at 7 p.m. in the Nest.
• Saturday is Kids Day, and all kids 12-under will be admitted free. Sacramento State players will sign autographs on team posters at the conclusion of the match.
• The Hornets are coming off a pair of road wins last week against Idaho and Eastern Washington, and remain the Big Sky Conference's lone unbeaten team in league play.
• Sacramento State (5-0) is followed in the standings by Montana State (4-1) and Weber State (4-1) to round out the top three in the 10-member league.
• That one loss suffered by Weber State came at the hands of the Hornets, who won in five sets in Ogden on Sept. 23. That sets up Thursday's intriguing matchup between the Hornets and Wildcats at the Nest.
• The Hornets' 5-0 Big Sky record is the team's best mark since the 2017 squad began the year 10-0 in league play. That 2017 team would later win the Big Sky regular season championship.
• The five-match conference winning streak is the longest since the 2021 team also accomplished the feat. Sacramento State has not won six straight league matchups since the 2017 team won 10 straight.
• The Hornets are 7-3 at home, and 2-0 in league. Sacramento State is 58-9 at home against Big Sky foes since 2015.
• The top four Big Sky teams in the latest RPI report include Northern Colorado (129), Weber State (150), Sacramento State (158) and Montana State (164). There are 344 Div. I programs.
• Speaking of rankings, the Hornets continue rank among the nation's leaders in multiple categories. As of Wednesday, Sacramento State ranked eighth in the country in total blocks (187.5), 22nd in kills (944), 22nd in opponent hitting percentage (.161), 28th in assists (865) and 32nd in blocks per set (2.53).
• Saturday's victory at Eastern Washington was the Hornets' 300th Big Sky win since joining the league in 1996. In its 28th year in the Big Sky, the Hornets are 300-138 in conference play during that time, good for a .685 winning percentage. That includes Big Sky regular season and/or tournament titles in 12 different seasons.
• The Hornets have run a 6-2 offense in every match this season, with Hailey Plugge (5.47 aps, 1.78 dps) and Kate Doorn (4.70 aps, 1.74 dps) handling the setting duties.
• Only four Hornets have started every match this season - middle blockers Kalani Hayes and Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin, rightside hitter Caitlin Volkmann, and libero Caty Cordano.

Multimedia Options

• Every match the remainder of the season - home and away - will be streamed on ESPN+. Play-by-play voice Will Schilling will be on the call for both matches this week.
• Matches on ESPN+ can be found on watchespn.com and the ESPN app.
• Live stats will be offered for every match this season.
• Reminder that all multimedia links can be found on the volleyball schedule at hornetsports.com.

Against This Week's Opponents

• Sacramento State is 41-16 all-time against Weber State, including a 3-2 victory in Ogden earlier this season (25-23, 20-25, 21-25, 25-17, 15-9). In that fifth set, after the score had been 9-9, Sacramento State finished on a 6-0 run.
• The Hornets are 21-4 in the Nest against Weber State. Thursday will mark the teams' first meeting inside the Nest since a 3-0 Sacramento State win on Oct. 28, 2021. That is the only match between the two teams in Sacramento since 2019.
• Prior to the Hornets' win earlier this season, Weber State had won five of the last six meetings in the overall series.
• In a series that dates back to 1996, Sacramento State is 40-16 against Idaho State. The Hornets have won three straight, and seven of the last eight meetings. Saturday will mark the only time the two teams will meet this season. Sacramento State swept the season series a year ago.
• The Hornets are 23-5 vs. the Bengals in the Nest. That includes nine straight home wins vs. ISU. The last Idaho State win in Sacramento came on Oct. 2, 2014, in a four-set Bengal victory.
• Of Sacramento State's last six wins against Idaho State, five have come via three-set sweeps.

Block Party

• Sacramento State's defense has been stout all year, as the Hornets rank first in the Big Sky and 22nd in the nation limiting the opposition to a .161 hitting percentage.
• A big part of that defensive prowess has been the team's blocking. In fact, Sacramento State is eighth in the nation in total blocks (187.5) and 32nd in blocks per set (2.53).
• The Hornets have two players that rank in the top 25 in the nation in total blocks - Kalani Hayes is 21st with 83 blocks, and Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin is 23rd with 82 blocks. The duo has been a huge factor in the Hornets registering at least 9.0 team blocks in six straight matches.
• The Hornets are averaging a whopping 3.53 blocks per set in Big Sky play, with the next closest conference team averaging 2.63 (Montana).
• Sacramento State has limited Big Sky opposition to a .111 hitting percentage thus far.
• Statistically speaking, its very easy to figure out if the Hornets will win or lose based on the opponent hitting percentage. Sacramento State is 12-0 when holding an opponent below .200, and 0-7 when the opposition hits above .200.

Pacing the Big Sky in Multiple Categories

• In conference play, Sacramento State sits atop the Big Sky in nearly every statistical category.
• That includes first among the Big Sky's 10 teams in points per set, hitting percentage, assists per set, kills per set, blocks per set, opponent hitting percentage, opponent assists per set, and opponent kills per set.
• There are some large advantages in Big Sky play over the opposition, including hitting percentage (.247-.111), kills (13.63-10.21), assists (12.37-9.53), digs (14.53-12.89) and blocks (3.53-2.05).
• In five conference matches, Sacramento State has dropped just four sets.

Notables

• Middle blocker Kalani Hayes has been brilliant all season, and that has carried into Big Sky play. Among conference leaders in league play, she is first in blocks per set (1.74) and second in hitting percentage (.423). Hayes is hitting .325 overall with 2.04 kills and 1.12 blocks.
• Rightside hitter Caitlin Volkmann has moved up to 10th in the league with 3.16 kps in Big Sky play.
• Rightside hitter Ellie Tisko has hit better than .310 in four straight matches. During that span, she is hitting .386 with an average of 2.31 kills and 0.44 blocks per set.
• Libero Caty Cordano ranks fifth in the Big Sky with 4.11 digs per set in conference play. A four-year starter at libero, Cordano's career average of 3.69 digs per set currently ranks ninth in program history.
• Outside hitter Bridgette Smith, a two-time first team all-conference selection, ranks among the Big Sky's top five players (in league play) in three categories - first in points (4.58 pps), third in kills (3.74 kps) and fifth in aces (0.42 aps). She had 21 kills in just three sets last week at Idaho.
• Middle blocker Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin has eight aces over the last five matches.