• Sacramento State (11-8, 4-3) concludes its season-long four match homestand this week when it hosts Idaho (4-15, 1-6) on Thursday at 7 p.m., and Eastern Washington (2-17, 0-7) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
• The Hornets opened the homestand last week with a five-set victory over Montana, followed by a three-set sweep of Montana State. 
• After Thursday's match, the Hornets will be at the midway point of the conference season.
• Sacramento State has won six straight at home, and, during that stretch, has dropped just three sets.
• The last time the Hornets lost in the Nest came in August in five sets against a Pepperdine team that is currently ranked 61st in the country in the latest RPI report.
• During the team's six-match home winning streak, the Hornets are averaging 14.33 kills per set to go along with a .344 hitting percentage. The team has been especially adept from the service line where it is averaging nearly three aces per set (2.95) during the win streak.
• The Hornets are just one game back in the loss column of the Big Sky standings, but there are seven teams in the league with either two or three losses. That includes Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado who sit atop the standings with 6-2 records. After Weber State (4-2), there are three teams at 4-3, including the Hornets, Montana, and Montana State.
• In conference play, the Hornets are 3-0 at home, and 1-3 on the road.
• Idaho brings a 4-15 overall record and 1-6 conference mark into Thursday's match. The Vandals have dropped four straight after a road sweep at Eastern Washington - the program's first win over a Big Sky team since 2002. Idaho is 2-6 on the road, which also includes a five-set win at Tennessee State.
• Eastern Washington enters the week with a 2-17 overall record and 0-7 conference mark. Since winning back-to-back matches against Pacific and Seattle, the Eagles have dropped nine straight. Eastern Washington is searching for its first conference win, and first road win (0-7).
• Sacramento State is led by middle blocker Ashlynn Archer (1st in the Big Sky, 8th in the nation with a .438 hitting percentage), outside hitter Victoria Marthaler (1st in the Big Sky, 11th in the nation with 
4.77 kills per set), and setter Kate Doorn: first - league play - in both assists (9.93) and aces (0.56) per set. 
• The Hornets are the defending Big Sky Tournament champions, won a Big Sky regular season title in 2023, and own a 118-52 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 72-12 in the Nest vs. Big Sky competition.
• The Hornets are two shy of 700 victories during the Div. I era (1991-pres.; current record of 698-431).

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

• Sacramento is 13-6 all-time vs. Idaho, as the Vandals did not joining the Big Sky until 2014.
• The Hornets have won nine straight in the series, including three straight sweeps. The last Idaho victory in the series came in 2019 when the Vandals won in five sets in Moscow on Sept. 28, 2019.
• Sacramento State is 7-2 at home vs. Idaho, including six straight wins in the Nest. The last loss to Idaho in Sacramento came in five sets on Nov. 3, 2018.
• The Hornets are 45-18 all-time vs. Eastern Washington, and have won eight straight in the series.
• The Eagles have not beaten the Hornets since Nov. 2, 2019, at the Nest (3-2). Since that time, Sacramento State has won eight straight while dropping just six sets in the process.
• Sacramento State is 29-6 at home vs. the Eagles, including five straight in the Nest.
• 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 hated each other 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. 

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. Coupled with this week's defensive award, she has now been named both the Big Sky's offensive (Sept. 22) and defensive players of the week.
• Among Big Sky leaders, she ranks first in hitting percentage (.438), and eighth in both points (3.70 pps) and blocks (1.00 bps). The hitting percentage is eighth best in the nation, as Archer has a streak of hitting better than .400 in 11 of her last 14 matches. 
• A middle blocker with more than three kills per set is rare, and Archer is at 2.93. 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.

RACKING UP THE ACES

• With the help of a combined 25 aces last week, Sacramento State has moved up to first in the Big Sky, and 31st in the nation, with 1.89 aces per set. In conference play, the Hornets are averaging a Big Sky-best 2.15 per set
• The Hornets have been especially adept from the service line in the Nest where the team has racked up double-figure aces in five straight home contests. That includes 10 vs. Weber State, 12 vs. Montana, and 13 vs. Montana State. During the last five home matches, they are averaging 3.17 per set.
• In conference play, Sacramento State has three players ranking among the top 10 in aces per set, comprised of Kate Doorn (1st, 0.56), Keonahi'ilani Solaita (4th, 0.44) and Reese Ampi (10th, 0.33).

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.
• One of the top outside hitters in the country, she currently ranks 11th in the nation with 4.77 kills per set, and 13th in the nation with 5.24 points per set. She easily leads the Big Sky in overall kills, and conference only kills per set (6.07).
• After receiving the award Monday, she has been named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week twice in the last three weeks and has posted 16+ kills in eight straight matches.
• She had 33 kills at Northern Arizona, and added 33 more kills last week vs. Montana, becoming the first Hornet in 30 years to post back-to-back 30-kill matches (All-American Jill Haas in 1995). The 33 kills are tied for the seventh best mark in program history.

NOTABLES

This year marks the Hornets' last in the Big Sky as the team will move to the Big West next season…Solaita has combined for seven aces in the last three matches after 12 aces during her first 14 matches of the year…after missing the first 17 matches of the season to injury, middle blocker Karlie Spohn played vs. Montana and responded with four kills and a .429 hitting percentage.