The Week Ahead

• After 13 non-league matches, Sacramento State (7-6) will jump into the Big Sky Conference portion of the schedule this week. In fact, the next 16 Hornet matches will be against Big Sky foes leading up the conference tournament in Sacramento on Nov. 27-29.
• The Hornets open league with a home matchup with Montana State (2-9) on Thursday at 7 p.m., before traveling to Cheney for a matchup at Eastern Washington (4-6) on Saturday at 11 a.m.
• Four of the team's first five Big Sky matches will come at the Nest, including a three-game homestand that runs from Oct. 4-12.
• The Hornets will enter the conference slate with a record above .500 for the first time since the 2017 team began league with a 9-7 mark.
• Sacramento State is 7-6 despite only three matches being played at home thus far. The Hornets are 3-0 in those matches at the Nest, including wins over CSUN, New Mexico State and San Francisco. The team is 4-6 away from home - 1-4 mark when playing on an opponent's home floor.
• Sacramento State is coming off a 1-2 record at the Central Cal Challenge, a three-day tournament hosted by Fresno State. The Hornets beat CSU Bakersfield, and lost to both Fresno State and Pacific.
• After beginning the season 0-2, the Hornets have won seven of their last 11 matches.
• Of the team's six losses, five have come against programs ranked among the top 70 in the nation according to the Massey Ratings, a metric similar to the RPI. That includes #27 Arkansas and #34 Michigan. Among the Hornet losses, the only team not in the top 70 is Fresno State (#141). Currently, Sacramento State is ranked 115th out of roughly 350 NCAA Div. I programs.
• Sacramento State has defeated teams from the following conferences - Big West, Conference USA, WCC, Northeast, Horizon and Mid-American.
• The Hornets have won at least nine conference matches each of the last nine years. That includes 10-plus wins four consecutive seasons. Last season's team finished 13-3 in league, and won the Big Sky regular season championship for the first time since 2017.
• During the nine-year stretch, the Hornets have combined for a 103-44 league record.
• Also during that nine-year run, the Hornets are 63-10 in the Nest vs. Big Sky competition.
• There are 10 teams in the Big Sky. Each team will play 16 conference matches. Sacramento State will play seven of those teams twice, and once vs. Idaho and Montana.
• Of the Big Sky's 10 teams, four are currently above .500, comprised of Idaho State (9-3), Northern Colorado (9-4), Northern Arizona (7-4) and the Hornets (7-6).
• The last sub-.500 Big Sky record for the Hornets came in 2014 when the team was 3-13 in league.

Multimedia Options

• Every match the remainder of the season will air on ESPN+.
• 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, including video, audio and tickets, can be found next to each match on the volleyball schedule at hornetsports.com.

vs. This Week's Opponents

• The Hornets are 49-12 all-time against Montana State, including a 28-4 mark at home. However, one of those losses came in the second round of last season's NIVC postseason tournament. The Hornets saw their season come to an end with a four-set loss to the Bobcats. Prior to that defeat, Sacramento State had won 21 of its last 22 home matches vs. MSU.
• The Hornets and Montana State played three times last year, with the Bobcats winning twice. That included a 3-2 MSU win in Bozeman (17-15 in the 5th) on Nov. 16.
• Since joining the Big Sky in 1996, Sacramento State's biggest rival has been Eastern Washington. Though the rivalry has simmered over the years, the two teams were fierce competitors for a decade.
• In fact, Sacramento State and Eastern Washington squared off in the Big Sky Tournament championship match in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. The Hornets defeated the Eagles in each of those matchups except 2001. That includes victories on the Eagles' home floor from 2002-04.
• The Hornets are 43-18 all-time against Eastern Washington, including a current six-match win streak.
• Sacramento State has not lost to the Eagles since a five-set defeat at the Nest in 2019.
• The Hornets are 14-12 when playing EWU in Cheney, including five straight wins at Reese Court. The last Eagle win in Cheney came on Oct. 8, 2015 (a four-set Eastern victory).

Outside Hitter Tandem Off To Huge Start

• Starting outside hitters Bridgette Smith and Caitlin Volkmann are off to big starts.
• The pair currently ranks among the top four players in the Big Sky in kills per set. Smith, the reigning Big Sky MVP, is third at 3.85 kps while Volkmann is fourth at 3.40 kps.
• Smith ranks second in the conference in points (4.46 pps) while Volkmann is fourth (3.97 pps).
• Either Smith (8 times) or Volkmann (4 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.
• Smith (185) and Volkmann (163) have combined for 348 of the team's 604 kills, or 58 percent of the team's output. Smith has been named all-tourney at all four Hornet tournaments this year.
• Both players are fifth-year seniors. Smith's 1,484 career kills are fifth most in program history, and Volkmann's 1,150 kills are the 18th best mark. With 16 more kills, Smith will become the fifth player in program history to reach the 1,500 kill milestone.

From The Service Line

• The Hornets have been very good at the service line, currently ranking 30th in the nation in aces (88). That mark is tops in the Big Sky, as is the team's average of 1.83 aces per set.
• The team has three players ranking among the Big Sky's top 10 in aces per set - Smith (2nd, 0.44), Volkmann (5th, 0.35) and Tisko (10th, 0.31).
• The team had registered at least six aces in 10 of its first 11 matches. However, the Hornets have combined for just four aces over the last two matches (3 at Fresno State; 1 vs. Pacific).

Hornet Notables

• For the second straight season, the Hornets are running a 6-2 offense with setters Kate Doorn (5.90 aps) and Hailey Plugge (3.96 aps) quarterbacking a Sacramento State offense that currently ranks second in the Big Sky in kills (12.58 kps), and third in points (16.19 pps).
• Of the team's 13 matches, the Hornets have been swept twice - once by an Arkansas team currently receiving votes in the top 25, and once by a Michigan team that enters the week with a 10-1 record.
• Junior middle blocker Ashlynn Archer ranks third in the Big Sky with a .333 hitting percentage. She has been on fire of late, hitting .519 (32-5-52) over her last four matches. That includes 12 kills and an .800 hitting percentage (12-0-15) vs. Akron, tied for the ninth best mark in the Hornets' Div. I era.
• Over her last three matches, rightside hitter Ellie Tisko is averaging 2.73 kills to go with a .277 hitting percentage. That includes 12 kills vs. CSU Bakersfield, 10 at Fresno State, and eight vs. Pacific.
• The Hornets have been employing two liberos - Reese Ampi (2.58 dps) on defense, and Abbey Kadillak (0.91 dps) on serve receive. The two have combined to average 3.49 digs per set.
• The Hornets have lost two straight, and will attempt to avoid a three-match losing streak. The team has yet to lose more than twice in a row this season.