The Week Ahead
• Sacramento State begins the 2024 season when it travels to San Luis Obispo for a pair of matches hosted by Cal Poly on Friday-Saturday. The Hornets will take on Cal Poly on Friday at 6 p.m., and 19th-ranked Arkansas on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Both matches will take place at Mott Athletics Center.
• Sacramento State began preseason practices on Aug. 8, and have been practicing six days a week leading up to Friday's opener.
• The Hornets are the defending Big Sky Conference regular season champions after finishing last year with a 22-12 overall record and 13-3 mark in the Big Sky.
•  The team is equipped with 12 returners and four starters from a year ago. That includes starters at outside hitter (Bridgette Smith, Ellie Tisko), rightside hitter (Caitlin Volkmann) and setter (Kate Doorn).
• Smith was the Big Sky's MVP and an honorable mention All-American while Tisko was named second team all-league. The team did lose three starters, comprised of first team all-league middle blockers Kalani Hayes and Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin, and second team libero Caty Cordano.
• While the Hornets finished last year at 22-12, Cal Poly was 21-11 a year ago, and Arkansas was 28-6 while advancing to the program's first-ever Elite Eight at the NCAA Tournament. In fact, Arkansas opens the season ranked 19th in the nation in the AVCA preseason top 25 poll.
• The Hornets are 6-12 all-time against Cal Poly, and have dropped five straight in the series. That includes a 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-16) home loss to the Mustangs last season. The Hornets' last road match at Cal Poly was a 3-0 loss in 2014. Sacramento State is seeking its first win over Cal Poly since 2007.
• Sacramento State began last year with a 5-1 record with the one loss during that stretch coming to Cal Pol at the season-opening Sacramento State Invitational.
• The Hornets and Arkansas have played each other just twice (1-1). The last meeting resulted in a 3-1 Razorback victory in Fayetteville on Aug. 31, 2006. Saturday's matchup will mark the 18th anniversary of that match.
• Sacramento State has won three straight, and eight of the last nine season openers.
• The Hornets were selected third in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll. The Hornets received the most first place votes (4), but their 67 points trailed Weber State (73) and Montana State (70). Weber State is the defending Big Sky Tournament champions.
• The Hornets combined to go 9-7 away home last season, including 6-4 on the road and 3-3 at neutral sites. One of those losses was a five-set defeat at third-ranked Florida.
• Over the last nine seasons, Sacramento State has combined for a 103-44 conference record (.701 winning percentage), and a 63-10 home record against league foes during that span.

Multimedia Options
• Friday's match at Cal Poly will be streamed live on ESPN+. Saturday's contest will not have a video stream. Like every match this season, live stats will be offered.
• For the fourth straight year, all of Sacramento State's home matches as well as road games at a Big Sky Conference venue, will be streamed on ESPN+.
• Matches on ESPN+ can be found on watchespn.com and the ESPN app.

Wrapping Up The 2023 Season
• Sacramento State posted a 22-12 overall record, 13-3 in conference, 13-5 at home, 6-4 on the road and 3-3 on neutral floors. The Hornets won the Big Sky's regular season championship, the team's first title since the 2017 season.
• The Hornets reached the semifinal round of the Big Sky Tournament in Greeley, Colo., before falling to Weber State in five sets (15-7 in the fifth).
• Sacramento State made a postseason appearance at the NIVC, sweeping UNLV in the first round before falling in four sets to Montana State in the second round. Both matches were played at home.
• Head coach Ruben Volta was named the Big Sky Coach of the Year. He begins his 17th season at the helm, and has been named coach of the year three times (2023, 2017, 2015) in the last nine years.
• Five Hornets were named to the all-conference team, including Big Sky MVP Bridgette Smith who returns as a six-rotation outside hitter. Outside hitter and returner Ellie Tisko was named to the second team. The Hornets, however, did lose the best middle blocker duo in the Big Sky in first team selections Kalani Hayes and Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin. They also lost second team libero Caty Cordano.

The Coaching Staff
• Sacramento State's coaching staff features head coach Ruben Volta, associate head coach Aven Lee, and assistant coaches John Fluette and Sarah Chlebana. Lee was promoted to associate head coach in July, while Chlebana enters her 14th year with the program.
• Longtime Hornet assistant Ed Jackson is no longer with the program after accepting the Butte College head coaching job. Jackson had spent the last nine years as an assistant coach.  Replacing Jackson on the sidelines will be Fluette, who begins his second stint. Fluette was also an assistant at Sacramento State from 2015-18.
• Volta, Fluette and Chlebana all played volleyball at Sacramento State. Chlebana played from 1997-00 when she helped the team to four straight Big Sky titles while being named all-league twice. Volta is in the Sacramento State Men's Volleyball Hall of Fame. Fluette was a two-time All-American with the Hornet men's club volleyball team from 2012-17.

Plenty Of Experience At Outside Hitter
• Sacramento State will have plenty of experience at outside and rightside hitter. In fact, the quartet of Bridgette Smith (1,299), Caitlin Volkmann (987), Ellie Tisko (510) and Greta Davis (237) have combined for over 3,000 career kills.
• Volkmann, who played primarily on the right side a year ago, is just 13 kills shy of becoming the 26th Hornet in the last 40 years to register 1,000 career kills.
• Smith was named honorable mention All-American and Big Sky MVP a year ago, becoming just the second Hornet to be named All-America during the program's Div. I era (1991-pres.). She was also the seventh Sacramento State player named Big Sky MVP since joining the conference in 1996. She is one kill shy of becoming the ninth Hornet at the Div. I level to register 1,300 career kills.
• Tisko (23) and Davis (14) both started matches last season. Tisko finished second on the team with 2.66 kills per set, which coincided with a second team all-Big Sky selection.

Running A 6-2 Offense Again?
• Led by setters Kate Doorn and Hailey Plugge, the Hornets ran a very successful 6-2 offense last season, which resulted in the Big Sky's top offense at 13.35 kills per set and a .243 hitting percentage.
• With both setters returning, the Hornets will likely run a 6-2 again this season.
• Doorn started the final 19 matches of the season,and averaged 5.42 assists, 1.78 digs and 0.24 aces per set while Plugge (15 starts) averaged 5.33 assists, 1.72 digs and 0.22 aces per set.

Hornet Notables
• Four middle blockers (Ashlynn Archer, Karlie Spohn, Amy McCarthy, Skyler Gartin) will compete for the team's two open starting spots at the position. Archer and Spohn are the front runners as both players enter their third seasons with the program. Gartin and McCarthy are true freshmen.
• The three Hornets competing for the starting libero spot will be junior returners Abbey Kadillak and Mia Guevara, and incoming sophomore Reese Ampi (transfer from American River College).