The Week Ahead

• Sacramento State (11-7, 4-1) begins a three-match road trip with one game this week - Friday at Portland State (4-12, 3-2). First serve is 7 p.m.
• Friday also begins a stretch that will see the Hornets play seven of their next nine on the road.
• The Hornets and Vikings will play each other for the second time this season. The first meeting, which took place Oct. 4 in the Nest, resulted in a 25-14, 25-19, 25-14 Sacramento State victory. In that match, the Hornets hit a season-high .421 (42-10-76), a mark which fell just shy of the Sacramento State single-match top 10 for highest hitting percentage.
• Sacramento State split a pair of home matches last week, which included a 3-1 victory over Northern Arizona and a 3-2 loss to Northern Colorado (17-15 in the fifth set).
• The loss to Northern Colorado saw the Hornets squander four match points. The game also featured plenty of controversy, as Sacramento State had a kill from Caitlin Volkmann at match point with a 14-13 lead. While the Hornets were celebrating the victory, the up official called a lift on Volkmann's swing, an almost non-existent ruling in the sport of volleyball and one that is never called on match point.
• That was the Hornets' first conference loss of the season, as they now sit in a three-way tie for first place with Idaho State and Northern Colorado. Each of the Big Sky's 10 teams will play 16 league matches.
• Sacramento State is the defending Big Sky regular season champions, and will host the conference tournament Thanksgiving Week (Nov. 27-29). The Hornets have secured at least 10 conference wins each of the last four, and eight of the last nine seasons.
• The Hornets are 2-4 when playing a true road match. This will be just their second road match against a Big Sky foe, with the first resulting in a 3-1 victory at Eastern Washington on Sept. 28.
• Since 2015, Sacramento State has combined for a 107-45 conference record (.704 winning percentage). That includes Big Sky regular season championships in 2023 and 2017.
• The Hornets have used the same starting lineup in every match this season - Kate Doorn at setter, Bridgette Smith and Caitlin Volkmann at outside hitter, Ashlynn Archer and Karlie Spohn at middle blocker, Ellie Tisko on the right side, and both Reese Ampi and Abbey Kadillak at libero.
• Sacramento State currently ranks 106th out of 346 Div. I teams in the NCAA's latest RPI report. Portland State ranks 251st.
• The Hornets need one victory to record their 1,100th win spanning 49 seasons. The team is 1,099-536 since 1976, which was the first season of AVCA Hall of Famer Debby Colberg's coaching career at Sacramento State. There have only been two head coaches during that time frame - Colberg and Ruben Volta. The two have combined for 14 conference coach of the year accolades (three for Volta).

Multimedia Options

• Every match the remainder of the season will air on ESPN+.
• For the fourth straight year, all of Sacramento State's home matches, as well as road games at a Big Sky Conference venue, will stream on ESPN+.
• Multimedia links, including video, live stats and tickets, can be found next to each match on the volleyball schedule at hornetsports.com.

vs. This Week's Opponent

• Including its home win over Portland State two weeks ago, Sacramento State is 52-28 all-time against the Vikings in a series which dates back to 1979.
• The Hornets and Vikings will face each other for the 81st time. That will be tied for the longest rivalry against any school for the Hornets (have also played UC Davis on 81 occasions).
• The Hornet sweep two weeks ago snapped a streak of six straight meetings in which the teams played to four or five sets against each other. The Hornets and Vikings split the season series a year ago, with each team winning on its home floor in four sets.
• Although Sacramento State has owned the all-time series, Portland State has won four of the last six meetings. The Vikings had won three straight until the Hornets' win last season.
• Both teams joined the Big Sky in 1996, and since that time, Sacramento State is 41-16 in league play vs. the Vikings.

Outside Hitter Tandem Playing Big

• Starting outside hitters Bridgette Smith and Caitlin Volkmann have been incredible, and are making a case for the Big Sky's best outside hitter tandem.
• Overall, Smith leads the Big Sky in kills per set (3.81) while Volkmann leads the league in kills per set in conference play with 4.15 kps.
• The tandem currently ranks among the Big Sky's top four players in both categories, the only duo in the league to currently boast that feat.
• In conference play, the tandem takes up the top two spots in points per set. Volkmann is first at 4.90 pps, and Smith is second at 4.80 pps. The next closest Big Sky player is pretty far back at 4.45 pps.
• Either Smith (9 times) or Volkmann (8 times) has led the team in kills in all but one match this season. Ellie Tisko paced the team in kills in the win over CSU Bakersfield.
• Both players are fifth-year seniors. Smith ranks fourth in program history with 1,558 career kills. Smith also has 1,136 digs, and is one of 13 players in school history to be in the 1,000/1,000 club.
• Volkmann has 1,233 career kills, the 14th best mark in program history.

From The Service Line

• The Hornets have been very good at the service line, currently ranking 13th in the nation with 2.00 aces per set, and 15th in total aces (136).
• The team has been especially good in conference play, averaging 2.40 aces per set.
• The Hornets have posted at least seven aces in all five Big Sky matches, including a season-high tying 14 last Thursday vs. Northern Arizona. In four of the five matches, the Hornets have at least nine aces.
• Bridgette Smith has been one of the country's best servers as she ranks eighth in the nation with 40 aces, and 13th with 0.59 aces per set. If that mark holds by season's end, she would become the most prolific single-season server in school history. The current high water mark is 0.52 aces per set, achieved by Allison Espinosa in 1987. Espinosa holds each of the top three rankings (0.52, 0.49, 0.48).

Hornet Notables

• In her first active season with the Hornets, third-year sophomore Karlie Spohn is ninth in the Big Sky with 1.10 blocks per set in league play. That includes a season-high seven stuffs vs. Portland State.
• Newcomer Reese Ampi, who is one of two liberos on the Hornets' roster, has tallied double figures in digs in a season-best three straight matches. That includes 15 on Saturday vs. Northern Colorado.
• Setter Kate Doorn, who runs a 6-2 offense with fellow setter Hailey Plugge, notched her 14th career double-double on Saturday with 25 assists and a career-high tying 16 digs. Doorn's average of 6.60 assists per set is the sixth best mark in the conference.
• Rightside hitter Ellie Tisko is third on the Hornets with 2.10 kills per set in league. She has registered double digits in kills in four of the last eight matches. That included 10 kills and .286 vs. Portland State.
• Junior middle blocker Ashlynn Archer is hitting .312 this season, seventh best in the Big Sky. That includes 10 matches hitting above .300. Her average of 1.15 bps in conference ranks seventh.
• Setters Hailey Plugge and Doorn combine to quarterback a Hornet offense that ranks first in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.258) and third in kills per set (13.55 kps) in conference play.