THE WEEK AHEAD

• After dropping a pair of road matches last week, Sacramento State (9-8, 2-3) returns to the Nest to play the first two of a season-long four match homestand.
• The Hornets host Montana (11-5, 3-2) on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by a Saturday afternoon matchup vs. Montana State (9-7, 4-1) at 1 p.m.
• The Hornets had won six of seven until running into a couple losses last week at Northern Colorado (3-1) and Northern Arizona (3-2). The NAU loss saw the Hornets drop the fifth set, 15-13.
• Sacramento State is led by middle blocker Ashlynn Archer (1st in the Big Sky, 11th in the nation with a .438 hitting percentage) and outside hitter Victoria Marthaler (1st in the Big Sky, 16th in the nation with 
4.55 kills per set). The pair has established itself as two of the top players in the Big Sky.
• Not only do the Hornets play four straight at home, they also play seven of the next nine in the Nest.
• Sacramento State is 4-3 at home this season, including four straight wins. In fact, during that four-match home winning streak, the Hornets have dropped just one set. That includes a 3-0 win (25-14, 25-22, 25-12) vs. Weber State. That remains the Wildcats' lone loss in conference play (4-1).
• During the team's current four-match home winning streak, Sacramento State is hitting .367 with averages of 15.08 kills and 13.31 assists per set. Marthaler is averaging 5.08 kills per set to go with a .331 hitting percentage and Archer is averaging 3.92 kills per set and a robust .554 hitting percentage. Freshman Keonahi'ilani Solaita is third on the team with 2.69 kills per set and a 326 hitting percentage.
• The Hornets will be playing Montana for the second time as the Grizzlies swept Sacramento State in Missoula (25-21, 25-23, 25-19) in the Big Sky opener for both teams on Sept. 25.
• Four of the Hornets' first five Big Sky matches have come on the road. Meanwhile, Montana has played four of its first five at home, and Montana State has played three of five at home.
• In conference, Montana leads the Big Sky in kills (14.89), assists (13.84), points (18.13) and digs (18.84). The Griz are 3-1 on the road, including a sweep of Idaho. Montana is 10-0 when hitting above .200.
• Montana State has won three straight, and sits in a two-way tie for first place (4-1) with Weber State. The Bobcats are coming off a 3-2 (15-10 in the 5th) road win at Montana that featured over 3,000 fans in attendance. MSU has played just four true road matches this season, and is 3-1 in those outcomes.
• The Hornets are the defending Big Sky Tournament champions, won a Big Sky regular season title in 2023, and own a 116-52 mark in league play since 2015.
• The Hornets have won at least nine conference matches each of the last 10 years. That includes 10-plus wins five consecutive seasons (11-5 a year ago).
• Also during that 10-year run, the Hornets are 70-12 in the Nest vs. Big Sky competition.

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• Every match the remainder of the season will stream on ESPN+.
• In addition, live stats are offered for every match.
• Games on ESPN+ can be found on watchespn.com and the ESPN app.
• Multimedia links can be found next to each match on the volleyball schedule at hornetsports.com.

AGAINST THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS

• The Hornets are a combined 51-8 at home all-time vs. the Montana schools.
• Sacramento State is 40-17 all-time vs. Montana, and has been especially dominant at home against the Griz (22-4).
• The Hornets have won seven straight inside the Nest, and all of those scores have been 3-0 or 3-1 outcomes. The last Montana win in the Nest came on Oct. 18, 2013.
• Overall, the Hornets have dropped the last two matches vs. Montana. Prior to that, the Hornets enjoyed a 10-1 record in the series between 2018 and 2023.
• Sacramento State is 51-12 all-time vs. Montana State, including a pair of wins last season.
• The Hornets have been very good at home vs. the Bobcats: 29-4 in the Nest. That includes an 18-match home winning streak vs. Montana State that stretched from 2001 until 2018.
• Though the Hornets have dominated the series, the Bobcats have won six of the last 11 meetings in the series. MSU defeated the Hornets in the Nest in the second round of the 2023 NIVC postseason tournament.

AMONG THE CONFERENCE AND NATION'S BEST

• Senior middle blocker Ashlynn Archer has been incredible this season, and has established herself as one of the top players in the Big Sky Conference.
• Among Big Sky leaders, she ranks first in hitting percentage (.438), and eighth in points (3.68 pps). 
• The hitting percentage is 11th best in the nation, as Archer has a streak of hitting better than .475 in nine of her last 12 matches. 
• A middle blocker with more than three kills per set is rare, and Archer is at 2.97. In fact, the last Sacramento State middle blocker to average more than three kills per set was Lindsay Haupt (3.67) during a 2007 season in which she was named the Big Sky MVP.

FINAL SEASON IN THE BIG SKY

• This year marks the Hornets' 30th in the Big Sky Conference (1996-pres.), but will also serve as the team's last. In June, Sacramento State announced that it will join the Big West Conference as a full member beginning in the 2026-27 academic year. 
• In 2026, the Hornets will join a Big West lineup that includes California Baptist, Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, CSUN, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and Utah Valley.
• During the Hornets' stay in the Big Sky, the program has won 14 regular season and/or tournament championships.
• The Hornets are coming off a 2024 season in which the team won the Big Sky Conference Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Sacramento State, which finished 21-12 overall and 11-5 in league, has won at least 10 conference matches five straight, and nine of the last 10 years.

NEWCOMER PAYING HUGE DIVIDENDS

• A transfer from Weber State, sophomore outside hitter Victoria Marthaler has made a massive impact during her first season with the Hornets.
• She currently ranks 16th in the nation with 4.55 kills per set, and 23rd with 5.01 points per set. Those averages both lead the Big Sky, as does her remarkable average of 5.89 kills per set in league play.
• In Saturday's loss at Northern Arizona, Marthaler posted 33 kills, the most by a Hornet in 17 years. She had 5+ kills in all five sets, and the 33 kills tied for the seventh best mark in program history.
• Marthaler has recorded 16-plus kills in six straight matches, and over that span, is averaging 6.00 kills per set to go along with a .290 hitting percentage. 

NOTABLES

In conference play, setter Kate Doorn ranks first in both assists (9.84 aps) and aces (0.53 aps)…Sacramento State hit below .220 in both matches last week, after hitting better than .300 in six of its previous seven matches…junior libero Reese Ampi ranks third in the Big Sky with 4.21 digs per set, including 25 on Saturday at Northern Arizona…in that NAU match, the Hornets had plenty of career highs - Marthaler (33 kills), Gartin (12 kills), Doorn (56 assists), Solaita (12 digs) and Ito (eight digs).