The Week Ahead

• Sacramento State (17-10, 10-4) enters the final week of the regular season with a pair of home matches and plenty at stake in the Big Sky Conference standings.
• The Hornets will host Idaho State (18-8, 9-5) on Thursday, followed by Weber State (13-12, 10-4) on Saturday. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m.
• Prior to Saturday's match (approximately 6:51 p.m.), four Hornet seniors - Hailey Plugge, Ellie Tisko, Caitlin Volkmann and Bridgette Smith - will be honored for their contributions to the program as part of Senior Night.
• Northern Colorado (12-2) needs just one win this week to secure the Big Sky regular season title outright, and plays both matches at home. So the Bears will likely win the championship, and host next year's Big Sky Tourney.
• However, the Nos. 2-4 seeds for the Big Sky Tournament are up for grabs between the Hornets and their two opponents this week. Sacramento State and Weber State are currently tied for second with 10-4 records, while Idaho State is fourth with a 9-5 record.
• Tiebreakers currently do not go the Hornets' way as they lost on the road to both schools (3-2 at WSU; 3-1 at ISU). However, tiebreakers could bend Sacramento State's way if its wins this week.
• The Hornets host the Big Sky Tournament on Thanksgiving Week (Nov. 27-29) by virtue of winning last year's regular season title. The top eight teams in the 10-team Big Sky qualify for the event with the winner earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
• If the season ended today (a lot could change this week), quarterfinal matchups on Nov. 27 would be No. 1 Northern Colorado vs. No. 8 Northern Arizona; No. 2 Weber State vs. No. 7 Montana State, No. 3 Sacramento State vs. No. 6 Portland State, and No. 4 Idaho State vs. No. 5 Eastern Washington. Montana and NAU are fighting for that last spot into the single-elimination tourney.
• There are no byes at the Big Sky Tournament. Four quarterfinal matches will take place on Nov. 27, two semifinals on Thanksgiving Day, and the championship on Nov. 29
• The Hornets are 8-1 at home this season, including 5-1 vs. conference competition. That one loss came in five sets (17-15 in the fifth) against Northern Colorado. Of the team's six home matches vs. Big Sky opposition, all were decided in three or four sets except the Northern Colorado match.
• Last week, the Hornets split a pair of road matches, losing in five sets at Montana, and winning in four sets at Montana State. Saturday's victory gave the Hornets at least 10 conference wins for the fifth straight season, and nine of the last 10 years.
• Of the Hornets' four conference losses, three have come in five sets.

Multimedia Options

• Every match the remainder of the season will air on ESPN+, including the Big Sky Tournament.
• For the fourth straight year, all of Sacramento State's home matches, as well as road games at a Big Sky Conference venue, are streaming 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

• Idaho State enters the week with an 18-8 overall record and 9-5 conference mark. The Bengals lost twice at home last week - in four sets to Northern Colorado, five sets to Northern Arizona.
• The Bengals are 6-3 on the road, and 4-2 against league opposition.
• Idaho State dealt Sacramento State its most lopsided loss in league play, defeating the Hornets in four sets (25-18, 25-17, 18-25, 25-16) on Oct. 26.
• Sacramento State is 42-17 all-time against the Bengals. The loss on Oct. 26 snapped a five-match winning streak against Idaho State.
• The Hornets are 24-5 at home against ISU, and have won 10 straight in the Nest. That includes eight straight three-set sweeps. The Bengals have not won a set in the Nest since 2016, and haven't beaten Sacramento State at the Nest since 2014.
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• Weber State, one of the most well-coached teams in the Big Sky, enters the week with a 13-12 overall record and 10-4 conference mark. The Wildcats had a six-match winning streak snapped with a home loss to Northern Colorado on Saturday.
• The Wildcats defeated the Hornets in five sets (15-11 in the 5th) in Ogden on Oct. 24.
• Though Sacramento State is 41-19 vs. Weber State, the Wildcats have presented problems since 2018. In fact, WSU has won three straight, and nine of the last 12 meetings. Each of the last two Hornet losses have come in five sets, including a Big Sky Tourney semifinal match last season in Greeley. In that match, the Hornets led, 2-1, in sets and 18-12 in the fourth before a Weber State comeback.

Volta Receives Contract Extension

• Head coach Ruben Volta, in his 17th season with the program, received a three-year contract extension on Oct. 30. Volta has been named Big Sky Coach of the Year three times during his tenure, and has guided the team to 10+ conference wins nine of the last 10 years.
• Since 2015, the team is 182-119 overall, and 113-48 in Big Sky play. That includes a pair of conference championships in 2017 and 2023.

Middle Blocker Rotation

• The Hornets have used three different middle blockers in starting spots over the last four matches because of injuries to a pair of players. That thrust true freshman Skyler Gartin into the lineup.
• Karlie Spohn missed the first three matches of the recently completed road trip with injury, and came back Saturday at Montana State to secure career highs in kills (8) and hitting percentage (.533).
• When Spohn came back on Saturday, Ashlynn Archer was injured and missed her first match of the season. The only constant over the last four matches had been Gartin, and the freshman has responded to the tune of 1.40 kills and 0.87 blocks per set to go with a .462 hitting percentage.
• Prior to the road trip, Spohn and Archer had started each of the first 23 matches of the season.
• Spohn is healthy again, and Archer is questionable to play this week.

Outside Hitter Tandem Playing Big

• Starting outside hitters Bridgette Smith and Caitlin Volkmann have combined to make up the most prolific duo in the Big Sky Conference.
• They currently rank first and second in the league in kills both overall, and in conference play. Overall, Smith leads with 3.93 kps, followed by Volkmann (3.75 kps). In conference play, it flips as Volkmann leads all players with 4.05 kps, followed by Smith (4.00 kps).
• Overall, they are also first (Smith 4.69 pps) and second (Volkmann 4.30 pps) in points.
• Overall, Smith ranks first in three categories, including kills, points and aces (0.60 aps). In fact, her 62 aces rank fifth in the nation, and are tied for the best Div. I era Hornet single-season mark.
• Either Smith (14 times) or Volkmann (12 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 1,704 career kills. Smith also has 1,229 digs, and is one of 13 players in school history to be in the 1,000/1,000 club.
• Volkmann has 1,373 career kills, the ninth best mark in program history.