The Week Ahead

• Sacramento State (12-7, 5-1) wraps up a three-match road trip this week. The Hornets play at Weber State (7-11, 4-3) on Thursday at 5 p.m. PT, followed by a matchup at Idaho State (14-5, 5-2) on Saturday at 11 a.m. PT.
• The volleyball team won't be the only Sacramento State squad in Pocatello for a game Saturday, as the Hornet Football team will play the Bengals that day at 3 p.m. PT
• The top five spots in the Big Sky standings are separated by just two games, comprised of Northern Colorado (6-1), Sacramento State (5-1), Idaho State (5-2), Eastern Washington (5-2) and Weber State (4-3). Eastern Washington hasn't lost (5 straight wins) since falling to the Hornets at home on Sept. 28.
• After this week's slate of matches, the Hornets will be at the midway point of the conference season. Each team in the Big Sky plays 16 conference matches.
• Sacramento State will attempt to win at least 10 conference matches for the fifth straight season. Only the Hornets, Weber State and Northern Colorado have won 10+ each of the last four years.
• The Hornets are the defending Big Sky regular season champions, and will host the conference tournament Thanksgiving Week (Nov. 27-29).
• Sacramento State played just once last week - a 3-1 road win at Portland State. The Hornets have already played the Vikings twice (including a 3-0 home win) and concluded their season series.
• Sacramento State is 3-4 in road matches, but is 2-0 against Big Sky teams. Both of those road wins came in four sets at Eastern Washington and Portland State.
• 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.
• Since 2015, Sacramento State has combined for a 108-45 conference record (.706 winning percentage). That includes Big Sky regular season championships in 2023 and 2017.
• Sacramento State currently ranks 108th out of 346 Div. I teams in the NCAA's latest RPI report. Idaho State ranks 110th, and Weber State 217th.
• Friday's win at PSU secured the Hornets' 1,100th win spanning the last 49 seasons. The team is 1,100-536 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).
• The Hornets are in the midst of a stretch (Oct. 18-Nov. 16) that will see the team play seven of nine matches on the road.

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 Opponents

• Weber State enters the week at 7-11 overall, and 4-3 in league. The Wildcats are the defending Big Sky Tournament champions. They have lost three of their last four overall, but are 2-1 at home in league.
• The Hornets are 41-18 all-time vs. Weber State, including a 19-10 mark when playing in Ogden.
• However, the Wildcats have won seven of the last nine meetings. The two teams split the season series a year ago with each team winning on the road. It was Weber State, though, that defeated the Hornets in five sets in the Big Sky Tournament semifinals in Greeley.
• That Hornet win on Weber's home floor snapped a four-match losing streak in Ogden.
• Idaho State, which hosts Portland State on Thursday, enters the week with a 14-5 overall record and 5-2 league mark. The Bengals are 5-2 at home, including 3-1 vs. Big Sky opposition.
• Of Idaho State's three home matches vs. league foes, two have gone to five sets and one to four sets.
• Sacramento State is 42-16 all-time vs. Idaho State, including a five-match winning streak. During those five wins, the Hornets have dropped just one set. Last season, the Hornets swept the Bengals at home during the regular season, and registered another sweep in the Big Sky Tourney quarterfinals.
• The last ISU win in the series came in five sets in Pocatello on Sept. 23, 2021.
• The Hornets are 16-10 on Idaho State's home floor, and the teams always seem to play each other close in Pocatello. Of the team's last seven meetings in Pocatello, four have been decided in five sets and three in four sets.

Outside Hitter Tandem Playing Big

• Starting outside hitters Bridgette Smith and Caitlin Volkmann have been an incredible duo.
• Overall, Smith leads the Big Sky in kills per set (3.82) while Volkmann leads the league in kills per set in conference play with 4.08 kps.
• The tandem currently ranks among the Big Sky's top four players in kills per set both overall and conference, 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 4.79 pps, and Smith is second at 4.77 pps.
• Either Smith (10 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 1,574 career kills. Smith also has 1,151 digs, and is one of 13 players in school history to be in the 1,000/1,000 club.
• Volkmann has 1,248 career kills, the 13th best mark in program history.

From The Service Line

• The Hornets have been very good at the service line, currently ranking 15th in the nation with 1.99 aces per set, and 21st in total aces (143).
• The team has been especially good in conference play, averaging 2.29 aces per set.
• The Hornets have posted at least seven aces in all six Big Sky matches, including a season-high tying 14 vs. Northern Arizona. In four of the six 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 12th with 0.58 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

• Setter Kate Doorn, who runs a 6-2 offense with fellow setter Hailey Plugge, has notched a double-double (assists and digs) in two straight matches. She has 15 double-doubles in her career.
• Setter Hailey Plugge, in her second season with the Hornets, is just 13 shy of 1,000 career assists in a Hornet uniform. Both Doorn and Plugge are in their second seasons after transferring from other Div. I institutions, and Doorn has 1,142 career assists in a Sacramento State uniform.
• Junior middle blocker Ashlynn Archer is hitting .305 this season, eighth best in the Big Sky. That includes 10 matches hitting above .300.
• Middle blocker Karlie Spohn's average of 1.08 blocks per set in league ranks ninth in the Big Sky.