The Week Ahead

• Winners of five straight, Sacramento State (17-8, 10-1) will play its final two home games of the season. The Hornets will host Eastern Washington (10-13, 4-7) on Thursday, followed by a Saturday matchup with Idaho (1-22, 0-11). Both matches will begin at 7 p.m.
• Saturday is Senior Night and five Sacramento State seniors will be honored prior to the game for their contributions to the program - Caty Cordano, Kalani Hayes, Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin, Karlee Soderberg and Caitlin Volkmann. The Hornets' sixth senior, Bridgette Smith, is utilizing her covid season and will return next year to play.
• The Hornets are coming off a very impressive week in which they swept both Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona on the road. Northern Colorado is the defending Big Sky Conference champions.
• With just five matches left in the regular season, Sacramento State sits atop the Big Sky standings, ahead of Weber State (8-3) and Montana State (7-3) to round out the top three.
• Thursday marks the first of five matches Sacramento State will play over a 17-day span to close the regular season. The Big Sky Tournament, played in Greeley, Colo., will take place Nov. 22-25.
• Sacramento State's 10-1 record matches the program's best 11-game Big Sky mark since joining the conference in 1996. The 2017, 2006, 2005, 2001 and 1998 teams also accomplished the feat. All of those teams, except the 2001 squad, finished the conference year with just one loss.
• The Hornets are seeking their first Big Sky regular season title since 2017, and 10th overall.
• In addition, the team's 17 overall wins are the most since the 2017 team finished 26-10 overall and 15-1 in conference play. That team eventually fell in the Big Sky Tournament championship match.
• In conference play, Sacramento State is 5-1 at home and 5-0 on the road.
• The Hornets moved up to a season-best 134th (out of 344 Div. I teams) in the latest RPI report.
• Sacramento State needs just one win to snap a run of three straight years in which the Hornets finished with 10 conference victories (10-6 in league each of the last three years).
• Head coach Ruben Volta recently won his 250th career match at Sacramento State. Since 2015, Volta has guided the Hornets to a 160-105 overall record, and a 100-42 mark in league play.
• Sacramento State has gone nine straight matches without playing to five sets. In fact, the Hornets have played just one five setter (the win at Weber State) in their last 15 contests.
• The Hornets have run a 6-2 offense in every match this season, with Hailey Plugge (5.50 aps, 1.78 dps) and Kate Doorn (5.02 aps, 1.80 dps) handling the setting duties.
• In conference play, Sacramento State currently leads the Big Sky in seven different categories. That includes first in points (18.64 pps), kills (14.18 kps), hitting percentage (.259), assists (13.13 aps), blocks (3.00 bps) and opponent hitting percentage (.148).

Multimedia Options

• Every match the remainder of the season - home and away - will be streamed on ESPN+. That includes both matches this week with play-by-play voice Will Schilling on the call.
• 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

• Since joining the Big Sky in 1996, Sacramento State's biggest rival has been Eastern Washington. Though the rivalry has simmered over the years, the two teams were fierce competitors for a decade.
• In fact, Sacramento State and Eastern Washington squared off in the Big Sky Tournament championship match in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. The Hornets defeated the Eagles in each of those matchups except 2001. That includes victories on the Eagles' home floor from 2002-04.
• Including a 3-1 win in Cheney on Oct. 7, the Hornets are 43-18 all-time vs. Eastern Washington. The Hornets have won five straight in the series, and haven't lost to the Eagles since a five-set defeat at home on Nov. 2, 2019.
• Sacramento State is 27-6 at home vs. Eastern Washington.
• Including a three-set sweep at Idaho on Oct. 5, Sacramento State is 11-6 vs. the Vandals, and has won seven straight in the series.
• The Hornets have won four straight in the Nest, and haven't lost at home to Idaho since Nov. 3, 2018.
• Of the seven matches during the Hornets' winning streak, only two of those went to five sets.

Block Party

• Sacramento State's defense has been stout all year, as the Hornets rank first in the Big Sky and 32nd in the nation limiting the opposition to a .165 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 (237.5) and 36th in blocks per set (2.53).
• The Hornets have two players that rank in the top 50 in the nation in total blocks - Kalani Hayes is 16th with 113 blocks, and Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin is 47th with 101 blocks. The duo has been a huge factor in the Hornets registering 10+ team blocks in six of the team's nine conference matches. That includes at least nine team blocks in all but one match.
• The Hornets are averaging 3.00 blocks per set in Big Sky play, and conference opposition has been held to a .148 hitting percentage. In fact, only two Big Sky teams (Weber State .291, Northern Colorado .212) have hit better than .200 against Sacramento State this season.
• Statistically speaking, its very easy to figure out if the Hornets will win or lose based on the opponent hitting percentage. Sacramento State is 16-0 when holding an opponent below .200, and 1-8 when the opposition hits above .200. That lone win came at Northern Colorado when the Bears hit .212.

Hornet Players Sitting Atop Big Sky Rankings

• Not only does Sacramento State sit atop the Big Sky rankings (in conference play) in nearly all team categories, but Hornet players lead the conference in four different categories.
• That includes outside hitter Bridgette Smith leading the conference with 4.00 kills and 4.69 points per set. She has at least 12 kills in 10 of the team's 11 matches vs. Big Sky competition.
• Middle blocker Kalani Hayes sits atop the Big Sky in blocks per set (1.62) and is third in hitting percentage at .370. She has hit better than .310 in nine of the 11 games vs. conference foes.
• Libero Caty Cordano continues to lead the Big Sky with 4.46 digs per set in league play. In addition, Cordano is closing in on the 1,500 dig milestone. She currently has 1,462 career digs.
• Middle blocker Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin is hitting .490 in conference play, which would easily rank as the top spot if she had a large enough attempts to qualify for the leader board.

Notables

• Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin is currently riding one of the more remarkable streaks in the nation. The middle blocker has gone six straight matches and 57 swings without an attack error. Over that stretch, she is hitting .632 (36-0-57). That includes seven kills in seven swings on Saturday at Northern Arizona, only the third time a Hornet has hit for a perfect percentage (with at least 7 kills) in program history.
• Rightside hitter Caitlin Volkmann is just 82 kills away from reaching the 1,000 kill milestone.
• Ellie Tisko was a major factor in the Hornets' sweep at Northern Colorado, compiling 19 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Her 2.77 kills per set in conference play ranks second on the team.
• Despite running a 6-2 offense, both Hornet setters - Kate Doorn 7th with 6.00 aps, Hailey Plugge 9th with 5.21 aps - rank among the Big Sky's top 10 players in assists in conference play.