The Week Ahead

• Fresh off the team's busiest week of the season, Sacramento State (6-4) will take part in the Central Cal Challenge, hosted by Fresno State from Friday-Sunday.
• Last week, the Hornets played five matches over five days, and finished that stretch with a 3-2 record. That included a 3-1 record at a tournament co-hosted by Michigan and Oakland.
• Since dropping their first two matches of the season, the Hornets have won six of their last eight.
• The Central Cal Challenge features four teams playing each other over three days at the Save Mart Center in Fresno. The Hornets play three straight days - the final non-conference matches of the year.
• Sacramento State begins the tournament on Friday vs. CSU Bakersfield at 3 p.m., followed by Saturday at Fresno State at 6 p.m., and the finale on Sunday vs. Pacific at 12 p.m.
• The four teams at the tournament are a combined 21-15 this season, comprised of Pacific (7-2), Sacramento State (6-4), CSU Bakersfield (5-4) and Fresno State (3-5).
• Last week, the Hornets fell at UC Davis on Tuesday, before traveling to Michigan for the first time ever on Wednesday, and playing four times between Thursday and Saturday. That included wins vs. Saint Francis, Oakland and Akron, and a loss to Michigan.
• At the conclusion of the tournament, outside hitter Bridgette Smith and middle blocker Ashlynn Archer were named to the all-tournament team. Smith has been named all-tourney at each of the three tournaments the Hornets have competed, while Archer has received the accolade twice.
• Sacramento State has used the same starters in all 10 matches this season - Kate Doorn at setter, Bridgette Smith and Caitlin Volkmann at outside hitter, Ellie Tisko on the right side, Ashlynn Archer and Karlie Spohn at middle blocker, and both Reese Ampi and Abbey Kadillak at libero.
• The Hornets are taking advantage of the new NCAA rule allowing teams to suit up two liberos, using Ampi on defense, and Kadillak on serve receive.
• After this week, the Hornets will turn their attention to the Big Sky Conference portion of the season. The slate includes 16 conference matches, beginning at home vs. Montana State on Sept. 26.
• 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. Because of that regular season title, the team will host this year's Big Sky Tournament during Thanksgiving week (Nov. 27-29).
• The team is equipped with 12 returners and four starters from a year ago. The four starters are outside hitters Bridgette Smith, Ellie Tisko and Caitlin Volkmann, and setter Kate Doorn.
• The team did lose a pair of first team all-conference middle blockers (Kalani Hayes, Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin), as well as a second team all-league libero in Caty Cordano.

Multimedia Options

• Of the Hornets' three matches this week, one will have a video stream.
• Saturday's matchup at Fresno State will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
• There will be no video stream for either Friday or Sunday's matchups.
• 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+.
• Multimedia links can be found next to each match on the volleyball schedule at hornetsports.com.

vs. This Week's Opponents

• Sacramento State is 21-6 all-time against CSU Bakersfield, which includes a current seven-match winning streak. In fact, the Hornets have not lost to the Roadrunners since 2009 (five-set home loss). The two teams have played each of the last two seasons, with the Hornets winning last year in Stockton (3-0), and in 2022 in Bakersfield (3-2).
• The Hornets are 9-19 against Fresno State, which includes losses last year in Stockton (3-0) and 2022 in Bakersfield (3-2). Sacramento State is 3-10 in road matches vs. the Bulldogs, but has won the last two matchups between the teams in Fresno. That includes a four-set win in 2015, and four-set victory in 2012. Between 2015 and 2022, the two teams did not face each other.
• A big nemesis over the years has been Pacific. Sacramento State is 7-30 in the series with the Tigers, which included a 13-match losing streak between 1976 and 1996. Pacific has won the last two matchups, including a year ago in Stockton (3-1) and 2022 in Bakersfield (3-0). Sacramento State defeated the Bulldogs at home in 2021 in five sets (17-15 in the 5th).

Outside Hitter Tandem Off To Huge Start

• Starting outside hitters Bridgette Smith and Caitlin Volkmann are off to big starts.
• The pair currently ranks second and fourth in the Big Sky in kills per set. Smith, the reigning Big Sky MVP, is averaging 3.70 kps while Volkmann averages 3.54 kps.
• Smith also ranks second in the conference in points (4.32 pps) while Volkmann is fourth (4.11 pps).
• Either Smith (6 times) or Volkmann (4 times) has led the team in kills in every match this season. Volkmann leads the team with eight double-figure kill matches, while Smith has seven.
• Smith (137) and Volkmann (131) have combined for 268 of the team's 459 kills, or nearly 60 percent (58%) of the team's output.
• Both players are fifth-year seniors. Smith's 1,436 career kills are seventh most in program history (three back of the sixth spot), and Volkmann's 1,118 kills are the 20th best mark.

From The Service Line

• The Hornets have been very good at the service line, currently ranking 14th in the nation in aces (75), and 31st in aces per set (2.03).
• The team has four players ranking among the Big Sky's top eight in aces per set - Volkmann and Smith are tied for second at 0.43, Ellie Tisko is sixth (0.35) and Reese Ampi ranks eighth (0.32).
• The team has registered at least six aces in all but two matches this season, and has posted double figures three times. That includes a season-high 14 vs. Akron, 11 at Oakland, and 10 vs. CSUN.
• For every 10 serves sent an opponent's way, a reception error is occurring once.

Small Town Middle Playing Big

• Junior middle blocker Ashlynn Archer, starting for the first time of her career after backing up a pair of all-league middles her first two seasons, has been very good in the early going.
• She is averaging 1.78 kills and 0.78 blocks per set, and her .315 hitting percentage is sixth in the Big Sky. That includes Saturday's win vs. Akron when she had a career-high tying 12 kills to go along with an .800 hitting percentage (12-0-15), the ninth best mark in Hornet single-match history.
• Archer hails from St. John, Wash., which has a population of just 597 residents.

Hornet Notables

• For the second straight season, the Hornets are running a 6-2 offense with setters Kate Doorn (5.68 aps) and Hailey Plugge (4.16 aps) quarterbacking a Sacramento State offense that currently ranks third in the Big Sky in both kills (12.41 kps) and assists (11.43 aps).
• Of the team's 10 matches, the Hornets have been swept twice - once by an Arkansas team currently ranked 25th in the nation, and once by a Michigan team that is currently undefeated (9-0).
• One big reason for the Hornets' first-ever trip to Michigan is senior Ellie Tisko, who hails from Royal Oak, Mich. Tisko is currently tied for third on the team with an average of 1.78 kills per set.
• With one win this week, the Hornets would assure themselves of entering Big Sky play with a record above .500 for the first time since the 2017 team began league with a 9-7 mark.