The Week Ahead

• Winners of seven straight, Sacramento State (19-8, 12-1) will play the first of three remaining regular season matches this Friday at Portland State (15-9, 8-5). First serve is set for 7 p.m.
• Each of the Hornets' final three regular season tilts will come on the road, including matchups next week at the Montana schools.
• The Hornets' magic number to clinch at least a share of the Big Sky regular season championship is one, and the magic number to clinch the conference outright is two.
• Sacramento State currently sits in first place, ahead of second place Weber State (9-3), third place Montana State (8-4) and Northern Colorado (8-4), and fifth place Portland State (8-5).
• The only team that could pass the Hornets in the standings is Weber State. The Hornets need to win one of their remaining three matches to clinch at least a share of the regular season championship.
• Two wins, or a win and a Weber State loss would allow Sacramento State to clinch the regular season title outright, gain the No. 1 seed for this year's Big Sky Tournament, and secure the right to host next year's postseason event.
• Northern Colorado won last season's regular season title, which is why this year's Big Sky Tournament resides in Greeley, Colo. (Nov. 22-24).
• The Hornets are seeking their first Big Sky regular season title since 2017, and 10th overall.
• Sacramento State's 12-1 record matches the program's best 13-game Big Sky mark since joining the conference in 1996. The 2017, 2006, 2005 and 1998 teams also accomplished the feat. Each of those teams finished the conference year with one loss.
• The Hornets' seven-match winning streak is their longest of the season, and longest since the 2017 team won 10 in a row.
• In addition, the Hornets are one win shy of 20 overall victories. The last 20-win season was the 2017 team finishing 26-10 and 15-1 in league.
• At 12-1, Sacramento State has its most conference wins since 2017. The Hornets had gone 10-6 each of the last three years, and posted an 11-6 mark in 2018 as well.
• Head coach Ruben Volta recently won his 250th career match at Sacramento State (now has 255). Since 2015, Volta has guided the Hornets to a 162-105 overall record, and a 102-42 mark in league play.
• Sacramento State has played just one five-set match (the win at Weber State) vs. Big Sky teams.
• In conference play, Sacramento State currently leads the Big Sky in seven different categories. That includes first in points (18.61 pps), kills (14.09 kps), assists (13.13 aps), blocks (3.07 bps) and opponent hitting percentage (.135). The Hornets are 17th in the nation overall in opponent hit% (.158).

Multimedia Options

• Every match the remainder of the season - home, away and neutral - will stream on ESPN+. That includes Friday's match at Portland State.
• 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 Opponent

• Sacramento State is 51-27 all-time against Portland State. That includes a four-set win over the Vikings (26-24, 25-23, 23-25, 25-15) in the Nest on Sept. 29. At the time, both the Hornets and Vikings were the only unbeaten teams left in the Big Sky in conference play.
• In that match, the Hornets had a season-high 18.0 team blocks, and limited the Vikings to a .142 hitting percentage. Five different Hornets had at least four blocks, including a career-best 12 from Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin. Caitlin Volkmann had a team-high 16 kills for Sacramento State.
• That victory snapped a three-match losing streak against Portland State. One of those losses came in five sets during the 2021 Big Sky Tournament in Ogden, Utah.
• The Hornets are 17-14 on the road vs. the Vikings, and the teams have split the last four meetings.
• At one point during the rivalry, Sacramento State won 23 consecutive matches against Portland State between 1989 and 2004.
• The Hornets are 40-15 in Big Sky matches against Portland State.

Block Party

• Sacramento State's defense has been stout all year, as the Hornets rank first in the Big Sky and 17th in the nation limiting the opposition to a .158 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 (261.5) and 26th in blocks per set (2.59).
• The Hornets have two players that rank in the top 40 in the nation in total blocks - Kalani Hayes is 16th with 123 blocks, and Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin is 31st with 114 blocks. The duo has been a huge factor in the Hornets registering 10+ team blocks in eight of the team's 13 conference matches. That includes at least nine team blocks in all but two matches.
• The Hornets are averaging 3.07 blocks per set in Big Sky play, and conference opposition has been held to a .135 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 18-0 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 most team categories, but Hornet players lead the conference in multiple categories.
• That includes outside hitter Bridgette Smith leading the conference with 4.09 kills and 4.76 points per set. She has at least 11 kills in 12 of the team's 13 matches vs. Big Sky competition.
• Middle blocker Kalani Hayes sits atop the Big Sky in blocks per set (1.59) and is second in hitting percentage at .380. She has hit better than .310 in 11 of the Hornets' 13 games vs. Big Sky teams.
• Libero Caty Cordano had been first in the Big Sky entering last week, but is now third with 4.26 digs per set in league play. She is also just 16 digs shy of reaching the 1,500 dig milestone.
• Middle blocker Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin is hitting .492 in conference play, which would easily rank as the top spot if she had enough attempts to qualify for the leader board.

Notables

• Caty Cordano is 16 digs shy of becoming the 11th player in program history to register 1,500 career digs. As of now, her 1,484 digs are the most by a Hornet since Lexie Skalbeck had 1,767 from 2013-16.
• Rightside hitter Caitlin Volkmann is just 69 kills away from reaching the 1,000 kill milestone.
• If the season ended today, Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin's .397 hitting percentage would rank as the top mark in Sacramento State single-season history. She has destroyed Big Sky competition to the tune of a .492 hitting percentage. That includes hitting better than .460 in each of the last seven matches.
• Despite running a 6-2 offense all season, both Hornet setters - Kate Doorn 7th with 6.11 aps, Hailey Plugge 8th with 5.17 aps - rank among the Big Sky's top 10 players in assists in conference play.
• Rightside hitter Karlee Soderberg is healthy again, and last week's blocking numbers show it. She combined for 12 blocks last week, including a season-high seven stuffs on Saturday vs. Idaho.