The Week Ahead - NCAA Tournament

• Sacramento State (21-11, 11-5) will compete in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007, when the team travels to Stanford (25-4, 17-3 ACC) for a first round matchup on Friday at 7 p.m. The match will stream on ESPN+.
• This marks the fourth straight trip (and six of the last seven) to the NCAA Tournament where the Hornets will play the first round at Maples Pavilion. Sacramento State also traveled to Stanford for the Dance in 2007, 2006, 2005, 2003 and 2002.
• In the Hornets' last NCAA Tournament appearance - 2007 at Maples - the Hornets defeated Minnesota, 3-1, in the first round before falling to Stanford in the second round, 3-0.
• Friday's other first round match at Maples features Loyola Marymount (24-5, 16-2 WCC) vs. Washington (19-11, 9-11 Big 10) at 4:30 p.m. The winners face each other in the second round Saturday at 6 p.m.
• The Hornets received an automatic berth after winning the Big Sky Tournament title on Friday, while Stanford is currently ranked sixth in the country, and is the tournament's No. 5 overall seed.
• The Hornets will make their 21st NCAA Tournament appearance (11th at the Div. I level). Sacramento State joined the Div. I ranks in 1991. The team is 2-10 all-time in NCAA Div. I Tournament play with first round wins in 1998 over Houston (3-0 in Stockton), and 2007 over Minnesota (3-1 at Stanford).
• Sacramento State qualified for the NCAA Div. I Tournament in 1997-00, 2002-07, and 2024.
• The Hornets will be playing Stanford for the fifth time in NCAA Tournament play (2002-03, 2006-07, 2024). Each of those outcomes resulted in a 3-0 Cardinal victory.
• The Hornets won their first Big Sky Tournament title since 2007 by beating three opponents over three days at the Nest. Sacramento State, the No. 3 seed after finishing in a tie for second place, hosted the event by virtue of winning last year's regular season title. The Hornets beat Portland State (3-1) on Wednesday, Idaho State (3-0) on Thursday, and Northern Colorado (3-2) on Friday.
• Northern Colorado was the No. 1 seed and regular season champion, and Idaho State had been the only Big Sky team Sacramento State had yet to beat. The Hornets dropped both regular season tilts.
• The Big Sky Tournament title was 10th since Sacramento State joined the league in 1996. That includes tourney titles in 1997-98, 2000, 2002-07, and 2024.
• Sacramento State enters the 64-team field with a 21-11 record, the second straight season for the program with 20+ wins. Last year's team went 22-12. The Hornets have not dropped more than two straight matches since the 2022 season.
• Sacramento State is the owner of a pair of national championships - 1980 AIAW Div. III national title, and a 1981 NCAA Div. II national crown.


Multimedia Options

• Every match played at the Stanford regional will stream on ESPN+.
• Links for video and live stats can be found on the volleyball schedule at hornetsports.com.

Bay Bound Again

• The Hornets have not left the Bay Area for the first round of the NCAA Tournament since 1999 when the team played in Los Angeles. This will be eight straight first round trips played in Bay Area venues.
• Sacramento State played first round matches in San Jose (2000), Stanford (2002-03, 2005-07, 2024) and Berkeley (2004).

vs. Stanford and the Regional field

• Sacramento State has never defeated Stanford, posting an 0-10 record in the all-time series. That includes an 0-7 record on the road, 0-1 at home, and 0-2 on neutral floors.
• The Hornets have won just two sets against Stanford, and have not posted a set victory since falling, 3-1, at Stanford in 1998. Sacramento State has dropped 18 straight sets since that time.
• The series started in 1976. The Hornets' lone home match in the series took place in 1997. Each of the last six meetings have come at Stanford.
• The Hornets are 4-4 vs. Loyola Marymount with the teams' last matchup coming in 2014 (a 3-0 Lions win in the Nest). The Hornets have won three of the four neutral site matches in the series.
• Sacramento State is 1-2 against Washington. The Hornets lost to the Huskies (3-0) in Boise in 2018, won at home in 1999 (3-0), and dropped a five setter in Bozeman, Mont., in 1978.

All-Conference Hornets

• Sacramento State received three all-conference selections. That includes outside hitters Bridgette Smith and Caitlin Volkmann named first team, and rightside hitter Ellie Tisko named to the second team. Each of those three players are seniors, and Smith and Volkmann are team captains.
• Smith became the first four-time first team all-Big Sky selection (2021-24) in program history after leading the Big Sky in kills (4.20 kps), aces (0.64 aps) and points (4.99 pps).
• Volkmann was named to the first team for the first time of her career after finishing third in the Big Sky in kills (3.72 kps), aces (0.37 aps) and points (4.27 pps).
• Tisko received second team honors for the second straight season after starting all 32 matches on the right side, and ranking third on the team with 2.05 kills per set.

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 186-120 overall, and 114-49 in Big Sky play. That includes a pair of conference regular season championships in 2017 and 2023, and this year's Big Sky Tournament title.

Bridgette Smith's Legacy

• If Bridgette Smith wasn't already known as an all-time great at Sacramento State, she certainly laid claim to being on the Mount Rushmore of Hornet Volleyball players with last week's performance.
• Smith was named Big Sky Tournament MVP after averaging 5.67 kills, 2.50 digs and 0.83 aces per set. She hit .308 with 68 kills in 156 swings over 12 sets. That included a career-best 30 kills in the championship win over Northern Colorado, the most by a Hornet since 2019. Amazingly, those 30 kills accompanied a season-best .464 hitting percentage, and she was the only Hornet with 10+ kills.
• Smith ranks among the top six players in program history in numerous categories, including kills (2nd, 1820), aces (3rd, 216), points (3rd, 2146), sets (4th, 522) and matches (6th, 136).
• Last year's Big Sky MVP and honorable mention All-American, and the only four-time first team all-Big Sky selection in program history, she is one of just four players in school history to achieve both Big Sky MVP and Big Sky Tourney MVP honors (Lindsay Haupt, Lisa Beauchene, Maureen Rafferty).

Top Serving Team In The Nation

• The Hornets' 257 aces are the most in the nation, and their average of 2.07 per set ranks seventh.
• Leading the way is Bridgette Smith who is second in the country with 79 aces and fourth with 0.64 per set. The 79 aces are a program record, and 17 more than the next closest Hornet to play at the Div. I level. Caitlin Volkmann ranks 50th in the nation with 46 aces, and Kate Doorn is 72nd with 43 aces.
• The Hornets combined for 36 aces during the Big Sky Tourney, including 13 in the semis vs. Idaho State, and 14 in the championship match vs Northern Colorado.