The Week Ahead
• Sacramento State (2-1) will host its second tournament in as many weeks for the two-day, four-team Hornet Invitational this Friday-Saturday.
• As part of tournament play, Sacramento State will play twice Friday against Cal State Fullerton and San Jose State, and once on Saturday vs. Portland.
• The Hornets will play four times over four days, which includes a home matchup vs. Saint Mary's on Monday at 5 p.m. The four matches are part of a seven-match homestand to begin the season.
• The team opened the 2023 season last week by going 2-1 at the Sacramento State Invitational. The Hornets defeated both Nevada (3-2) and Iowa (3-0) before falling to Cal Poly (3-0).
• This week's four-team Hornet Invitational field consists of Sacramento State, Cal State Fullerton, San Jose State and Portland.
• Four tournament matches will be played on Friday, followed by two more on Saturday.
• Games will be played Friday at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sacramento State will play the 12:30 p.m. match vs. Cal State Fullerton, and the 7 p.m. match against San Jose State.
• Only two games will play on Saturday at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The Hornets will play the late match vs. Portland. An all-tournament team will be announced at the conclusion of the event.
• Each team played in a season-opening tournament last week, and will enter this week with the following records: the Hornets, Portland and San Jose State are all 2-1 while Cal State Fullerton is 0-3.
• In Monday's Labor Day matchup, the Hornets will take on a Saint Mary's team that is currently 3-0.
• After Monday's game completes the homestand, the Hornets play just three times at home between Sept. 5 and Oct. 10. That includes a Sept. 12 matchup against rival UC Davis.
• The Hornets have a veteran-laden roster that includes 13 returners. In fact, Sacramento State returns six starters and its libero. The Hornets lost just two players from a year ago, which includes their starting setter Ashtin Olin.
• Setters Hailey Plugge and Kate Doorn, both new to the Hornets' indoor squad, ran a 6-2 offense in all three matches last week, and that will likely continue throughout the season.
• Over the last eight seasons, Sacramento State has combined for a 90-41 Big Sky Conference record (.687 winning percentage), and a 56-9 home record against league foes during that span.
• The Nest received another big upgrade. Prior to last season, the venue got a paint job and new lighting. Over the summer, the facility received a brand new video board and scoreboard which made their debuts last week. The video board is much larger than its predecessor, and is as wide as the volleyball court. Also making its debut were brand new press tables with video display capabilities.

Multimedia Options
• All six matches at this week's tournament, and Monday's game vs. Saint Mary's, will be video streamed on ESPN+ with Will Schilling handling the announcing duties.
• All of Sacramento State's home matches this year, as well as road games at a Big Sky Conference venue, will be streamed on ESPN+ for the third straight season.
• Matches on ESPN+ can be found on watchespn.com and the ESPN app.
• Live stats will also be made available for every match of the tournament.
• A home page has been set up for the tournament on the volleyball page at hornetsports.com where direct links to all video and live stats links can be found.

Against This Week's Opponents
• Sacramento State is 3-3 all-time against Cal State Fullerton and has won the last three matchups. The two teams have played just once over the last 30 years, a three-set sweep of the Titans in Fresno in 2015. The last time the Hornets lost to Cal State Fullerton was during the Div. II era in 1986. The team's lone matchup at the Nest came in a 3-0 Hornet win in 1994.
• The Hornets are 10-9 against San Jose State, but have been swept by the Spartans each of the last two years. The Hornets are 3-4 at home vs. San Jose State, and have not defeated the Spartans in the Nest since 2010 (losses in 2013 and 2022).
• Sacramento State is 5-2 against Portland. The Pilots have won the last two matchups, after the Hornets were victorious in the first five meetings. Portland traveled to the City of Trees last season for the Sacramento State Invitational, and the Pilots defeated the Hornets in four sets.
• The Hornets are 28-10 all-time against Saint Mary's, including an 11-6 mark when playing at home. The Hornets had dropped four straight in the series until Sacramento State swept the Gaels in Moraga last season.

Wrapping Up The 2022 Season
• Last season, Sacramento State posted a 15-15 overall record, 10-6 in the Big Sky Conference, and 7-5 at both home and on the road (1-5 neutral floors). The Hornets have finished 10-6 in league play each of the last three seasons.
• The Hornets reached the semifinal round of the Big Sky Tournament, losing to eventual champion Northern Colorado, 3-2 (15-11 in the 5th set). Sacramento State beat Montana in four in the quarters.
• Sacramento State had four players named all-Big Sky Conference. That includes a pair of first teamers (outside hitter Bridgette Smith, middle blocker Kalani Hayes) and a pair of second teamers (middle blocker Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin, setter Ashtin Olin). Olin is the only player not back among the four.

New Faces At Setter
• After watching Ashtin Olin start at setter each of the last five years (extra season of play because of the pandemic), Sacramento State fans saw a pair of new quarterbacks at last week's tournament.
• Setters Hailey Plugge and Kate Doorn, both Div. I transfers, ran a successful 6-2 offense that saw the team average 13.00 kills and 11.91 assists per set last week. Both marks are second in the Big Sky.
• Both Plugge and Doorn transferred in January, and played in the spring with the Hornet beach team. This fall is their first indoor seasons at Sacramento State.
• Olin was a very decorated setter, earning second team all-Big Sky honors each of her five seasons.

Notables
• The Hornets posted a 2-1 record last week (including a three-set sweep of the Big Ten's Iowa) despite playing without two likely starters. Outside hitter Bridgette Smith (injury) is a two-time first team all-Big Sky selection and rightside hitter Karlee Soderberg (sick) is a strong 6-foot-3 presence on the floor. Both will likely be back in action this week.
• The Hornets rank among the top three Big Sky teams in kills (2nd, 13.00), assists (2nd, 11.91), digs (2nd, 15.27), blocks (3rd, 2.27). They are the only Big Sky team to rank in the top three of each category.
• Both libero Caty Cordano (4.00 dps) and rightside hitter Caitlin Volkmann (2.64 kps) were named to the Sacramento State all-tournament team. Cordano has 10+ digs in all three matches thus far.
• Middle blockers Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin (1.36 kps, 0.91 bps) and Kalani Hayes (1.73 kps, 0.82 bps) have combined to hit .300 (34-10-80) thus far.
• Outside hitters Ellie Tisko (20 kills, 18 digs) and Greta Davis (15 kills, 16 digs) both posted their first career double-doubles, and career highs in both categories in the Hornets' 3-2 win over Nevada.
• Bridgette Smith is just 135 kills shy of 1,000 for her career. Caitlin Volkmann could also reach the 1,000 kills milestone this year. She needs 285 kills to reach the mark, after posting 311 a season ago.
• The Hornets' first three matches each drew more than 500 fans, including 644 on Sunday.