SACRAMENTO -- Tournament MVP Bridgette Smith had a career-high 30 kills to help lead Sacramento State to a 3-2 victory over Northern Colorado (23-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-13, 15-9), and win the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship on Friday evening at the Nest.

Sacramento State secures its 10th Big Sky Tournament title since joining the league in 1996, and first since the 2007 season. The Hornets will receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007, and 21st time in program history.

The NCAA Tournament selection show is this Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPN. The Hornets will be one 64 teams to appear at the tournament, and one of 32 to receive an automatic berth. The first and second rounds take place Dec. 5-7.

• Hornets win their 10th Big Sky Tournament title (1997-98, 2000, 2002-07, 2024)
• Will be making their 21st NCAA Tournament appearance (11th at the Div. I level)
• First Big Sky Tourney title since 2007
• First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007
• Now 29-14 all-time at the Big Sky Tournament
• Now 10-3 in Big Sky Tournament championship matches
• Advanced to first Big Sky Tournament title match for the first time since 2017
• Three wins in three days - Wed vs Portland State (3-1), Thu vs Idaho State (3-0), Fri vs Northern Colorado (3-2)
• Dropped just three sets during the three-day, three-match event
• Improved to 12-2 at home this season
• Have not dropped more than two straight matches since the 2022 season
• Will take a four-match winning streak into the NCAA Tournament

Three Hornets were named all-tournament, including MVP Bridgette Smith as well as Caitlin Volkmann and Reese Ampi. Smith was unreal during the entire tournament, connecting for 17+ kills in all three matches. That includes tonight's brilliant performance in which she had 30 kills, a .464 hitting percentage, four aces and 13 digs. The 30 kills eclipsed her previous career high of 27, and are the most by a Hornet since the 2019 season. She finished with 30 kills and just four errors in 56 swings.

Sacramento State never trailed during the fifth set, opening up a 5-0 lead. Smith served all five of those points, connecting for an ace while throwing Northern Colorado out of system with her other serves during the run. The Bears would eventually tie things at 8-8, but the Hornets closed on a 7-1 run. Fittingly, Smith had three kills during the run, connecting for her 30th kill to make the score 14-9. The match ended on a solo block by Ashlynn Archer, setting off a celebration by the Hornet players.

Both Smith and Volkmann had three kills during the fifth frame while Archer had a pair of blocks. Kate Doorn, who had a difference-making serve all tournament, served the final three points of the match.

Sacramento State finished the contest hitting .298, which included .320+ hitting percentages during its victorious second, fourth and fifth sets. The team hit .438 in the fifth with seven kills and no errors in 16 swings. The Hornets finished with 62 kills (seven more than UNC), 14 aces (one shy of a season high) and 67 digs.

Archer had nine kills, a .375 hitting percentage and three blocks. She finished the tournament averaging 2.08 kills and 0.92 blocks per set while hitting .413. Ampi, who was flying around all over the place making numerous full-extension diving digs, led all players with 22 digs. She finished the tournament with a team-best 4.33 digs per set. Doorn finished with 24 assists, two aces and nine digs, and consistently made runs with her serve in every match during the tournament.

Ellie Tisko had nine kills and a team-high four blocks, Volkmann eight kills, four aces and nine digs, Skyler Gartin three kills and three blocks, Greta Davis three kills and a pair of digs, and Hailey Plugge 20 assists and seven digs. Volkmann finished the tournament with 3.17 kills, 2.50 digs and 0.67 aces per set. That included a career-high tying 22 kills in the team's 3-1 quarterfinal victory over Portland State on Wednesday.