The Week Ahead - Big Sky Tournament

• Sacramento State (20-10, 13-3) will enter this week's Big Sky Tournament as the No. 1 seed after winning the league's regular season championship.
• The top eight teams in the 10-member conference qualify for the postseason event, which will take place Wednesday-Friday in Greeley, Colo., on Northern Colorado's home floor. The Bears earned the right to host the Big Sky Tournament after winning last year's regular season title.
• This year marks the 23rd Big Sky Tourney appearance for the Hornets since joining the league in 1996.
• The single elimination tournament will be played Wednesday-Friday. Wednesday features four quarterfinal games, followed by Thursday's semifinal matches, and Friday's championship at 6 p.m. PT.
• Sacramento State will open the tournament on Wednesday at 12 p.m. PT vs. #8 Idaho State (8-19, 6-10). That marks the second quarterfinal match of the day.
• Other quarterfinal matchups feature #4 Weber State vs #5 Portland State at 9 a.m. PT, #3 Montana State vs #6 Montana at 3 p.m. PT, and #2 Northern Colorado vs #7 Eastern Washington at 6 p.m. PT.
• The winner of the Hornets/Idaho State match will face the winner of Weber State/Portland State in Thursday's semifinal at 3 p.m. PT.
• Sacramento State faced Idaho State just once this year, and that resulted in the Hornets winning via three-set sweep at the Nest on Oct. 14. Two of those sets were very close (25-19, 26-24, 26-24).
• The winner of the Big Sky Tournament receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, a place the Hornets haven't been since 2007. Northern Colorado is the defending Big Sky Tourney champions.
• The NCAA Tournament's field of 64 has taken just one team from the Big Sky 23 consecutive years, making the Big Sky Tournament that much more important.
• Sacramento State finished the regular season 12-4 at home, 6-4 on the road, and 2-2 on neutral floors.
• The Hornets won the Big Sky regular season championship for the first time since 2017, and the 10th time since joining the conference in 1996.
• The Hornets were rewarded with the Big Sky Coach of the Year (Ruben Volta), the Big Sky MVP (Bridgette Smith), and five players named all-Big Sky, including first teamers Bridgette Smith, Kalani Hayes and Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin, as well as second teamers Caty Cordano and Ellie Tisko.
• Sacramento State's 13-3 conference record ties for the program's 2nd best mark in the last 16 years.
• The Hornets finished first in the Big Sky (in conference play) in kills (14.18 per set), blocks (2.95 per set), hitting percentage (.268), assists (13.23 per set) and opponent hitting percentage (.164)
• The Hornets never suffered a losing streak longer than two matches all season.
• The Hornets won seven straight from Oct. 14-Nov. 4, the longest streak since the 2017 season.

Hornets At The Big Sky Tournament

• Currently in their 28th season in the Big Sky, the Hornets are making their 23rd appearance at the Big Sky Tournament, and have posted a 25-13 record at the postseason event.
• The Hornets have won the Big Sky Tournament title nine times (1997-98, 2000, 2002-07).
• That included a run of 12 consecutive victories spanning six years from 2002-07.
• Of the team's 22 appearances at the tourney, Sacramento State has reached the championship match 12 times. The Hornets are 9-3 in those championship matches.
• Sacramento State has not qualified for a Big Sky championship since 2017 (3-2 loss to North Dakota at The Nest), and has not won a Big Sky Tourney title since 2007 (3-0 win over Portland State).
• Of the team's 22 appearances at the Big Sky Tournament, Sacramento State has failed to reach at least the semifinal round just five times (2008, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021).

Multimedia Options

• Every match of the Big Sky Tournament will be streamed on ESPN+.
• Matches on ESPN+ can be found on watchespn.com and the ESPN app.
• Live stats will be offered for every match of the tournament.
• Reminder that all multimedia links can be found on the volleyball schedule at hornetsports.com.

vs. Tournament Field (this year, all-time, Big Sky Tournament)

• Of the seven opponents Sacramento State could face in the Big Sky Tournament, the Hornets beat every team during the regular season at least once.
• The Hornets are 23-7 in Big Sky Tourney play against the seven teams they could face.
• #2 Northern Colorado: 1-0 this year, 16-20 all-time, 3-2 in the Big Sky Tourney.
• #3 Montana State: 1-1 this year, 49-11 all-time, 6-1 in the Big Sky Tourney.
• #4 Weber State: 1-1 this year, 41-17 all-time, have never played in the Big Sky Tourney.
• #5 Portland State: 1-1 this year, 51-28 all-time, 2-2 in the Big Sky Tourney.
• #6 Montana: 2-0 this year, 40-15 all-time, 2-0 in the Big Sky Tourney.
• #7 Eastern Washington: 2-0 this year, 43-18 all-time, 9-1 in the Big Sky Tourney.
• #8 Idaho State: 1-0 this year, 41-16 all-time, 1-1 in the Big Sky Tourney

Five Hornets Named All-Conference; Volta Named Coach of the Year

• On Tuesday, two Hornets received individual honors, and five players were named all-conference.
• Senior outside hitter Bridgette Smith was named the league's MVP, becoming the Hornets' first MVP since Kennedy Kurtz in 2017, and the first Hornet outside hitter named MVP since 1996 (Jill Haas).
• Ruben Volta was named the Big Sky Coach of the Year for the third time (2023, 2017, 2015) after guiding the Hornets to the conference's regular season title.
• Smith was named first team all-Big Sky for the third straight year after ranking second in the conference with 4.00 kills and 4.63 points per set in league play. She is the first Hornet outside hitter to be named first team all-Big Sky on three occasions.
• Senior middle blocker Kalani Hayes was named to the first team, and becomes just the third Hornet middle to be named first team multiple times. A four-time all-conference selection (second team in 2020 and 2021), Hayes leads the conference in blocks (1.48 bps) and ranks fourth in hitting% (.395).
• Senior middle blocker Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin was a unanimous first team all-conference selection after easily leading the Big Sky with a .451 hitting percentage in league play. She also ranks third with 1.28 blocks per set. Her .389 overall hitting% is the best mark in program single-season history.
• Libero Caty Cordano was named to the second team for the second time (2020), and ranks fourth overall in the Big Sky with 4.09 digs per set. She also averages 4.17 digs in conference play. She posted double figures in digs on 26 occasions, including at least 17 digs on 17 occasions.
• Outside hitter Ellie Tisko was named to the second team. Tisko spent parts of the season at rightside and outside hitter, most recently on the outside. Her average of 2.80 kills per set in conference play ranks second on the team. She had 47 kills over the final three matches of the regular season.

Hornet Notables

• Senior rightside hitter Caitlin Volkmann is just 36 kills shy of 1,000 for her career. Volkmann combined for 30 kills last week at the Montana schools, and hit .365 over that two-match span.
• Despite running a 6-2 offense all season, both Hornet setters - Kate Doorn 7th with 6.28 aps, Hailey Plugge 8th with 5.18 aps - rank among the Big Sky's top 10 players in assists in conference play.
• Statistically speaking, its very easy to figure out if the Hornets will win or lose based on the opponent hitting percentage. Sacramento State is 18-0 when holding an opponent below .200, and 2-10 when the opposition hits above .200.