THE WEEK AHEAD

• Winners of four straight, Sacramento State (13-8, 6-3) returns to the road after completing a perfect 4-0 homestand over the last two weeks.
• The Hornets will travel to Idaho State (7-13, 3-5) for a Thursday matchup at 6 p.m. PT, followed a Saturday matchup at Weber State (12-8, 4-4) at 5 p.m. PT.
• The Hornets swept Weber State at home in late September, which was the team's first Big Sky victory of the season. Thursday will mark the only meeting of the season against Idaho State.
• During the 4-0 homestand, the Hornets dropped just two sets. After opening with a 3-2 win over Montana, the Hornets posted three straight sweeps vs. Montana State, Idaho and Eastern Washington.
• With just seven matches left in the regular season, Sacramento State is locked in a four-way tie for second place with the Montana schools and Northern Colorado all at 6-3. Sitting atop the conference is Northern Arizona (7-2), which has won five straight.
• Idaho State began the conference season with three straight losses, followed by three straight wins, and has since lost two straight (both on the road to the Montana schools last week). The Bengals are 3-1 at home vs. the Big Sky, including wins over Idaho, Eastern Washington and Weber State. 
• Weber State was sitting in first place the first few weeks of the conference season, but has dropped three straight (all 3-1 losses on the road to Idaho State, Montana State and Montana). The Wildcats have been a much different team at home (7-1) compared to the road (1-7). That includes a 4-0 record at home vs. the Big Sky, and 0-4 on the road. 
• Sacramento State is 1-3 on the road against Big Sky opposition, and will play its first road match since a 3-2 loss (15-13 in the 5th set) to conference leading Northern Arizona on Oct. 11. The Hornets' lone conference road win came at Portland State (3-1) on Oct. 3.
• In Saturday's victory over Eastern Washington, the Hornets secured their 700th win during the Div. I era (1991-pres.) and are now  700-431 (.619 winning percentage) since joining the Div. I ranks.
• Sacramento State is led by middle blocker Ashlynn Archer (1st in the Big Sky, 4th in the nation with a .444 hitting percentage), outside hitter Victoria Marthaler (1st in the Big Sky, 7th in the nation with 
4.89 kills per set), and setter Kate Doorn: first - league play - in both assists (10.09) and aces (0.61) per set. 
• The Hornets are the defending Big Sky Tournament champions, won a Big Sky regular season title in 2023, and own a 120-52 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 74-12 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

• Sacramento is 43-18 all-time vs. Idaho State, but the Bengals have won two of the last three meetings. Last season, the Hornets dropped both regular season meetings in four sets, but got revenge in the Big Sky Tournament semifinals at the Nest with a 25-19, 25-15, 25-23 victory.
• The Hornets have eliminated the Bengals each of the last two years at the Big Sky Tournament, including a 3-0 sweep in the quarterfinals of the 2023 tourney in Greeley, Colo.
• The Hornets are 16-11 when playing in Pocatello. The two teams have split the last eight meetings with each resulting in 3-1 or 3-2 scores. 
• Sacramento State is 43-19 all-time vs. Weber State. The Hornets have won two straight after Weber State had won eight of 10 in the series. Earlier this season, Sacramento State posted a dominant 25-14, 25-22, 25-12 victory at the Nest.
• Despite the three-game sweep earlier this year, four of the last six meetings have been 3-2 scores.
• The Hornets are 19-11 when playing in Ogden. Weber State has won six of the last eight meetings on its home floor. including a 3-2 victory last season over the Hornets (15-11 in the fifth).

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. She is the only player in the Big Sky this season to earn both the conference's offensive (Sept. 22) and defensive player (Oct. 20) of the week awards.
• She is currently fourth in the nation and first in the Big Sky with a .444 hitting percentage. She also ranks eighth in the conference in both blocks (1.03 bps) and points (3.66 pps). Archer has hit at least .500 in three straight matches, and in 11 matches overall.
• A middle blocker that averages 3.00 kills per set is rare, and Archer is at 2.88. In fact, the last Sacramento State middle blocker to average 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 45 aces during the 4-0 homestand, Sacramento State has moved up to 15th in the nation with 2.00 aces per set. That mark is easily tops in the Big Sky. In conference play, the Hornets are averaging a whopping 2.36 aces per set.
• In league, Sacramento State players take up three of the top four spots among the Big Sky's leaders in aces. That includes Kate Doorn (1st, 0.61 aps), Keonahi'ilani Solaita (2nd with 0.52 aps) and Reese Ampi (4th with 0.42 aps).
• The Hornets have been much better from the line at home (2.45 aps) compared to the road (1.33 aps).

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 seventh in the nation with 4.88 kills per set, and 10th in the nation with 5.36 points per set. She easily leads the Big Sky in overall kills, and conference only kills per set (6.09).
• She has been named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week twice in the last four weeks and has posted 16+ kills in 10 straight matches.
• With back-to-back matches of 33 kills at Northern Arizona, and at home vs. Montana, she became 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.
• Sacramento State is the only team in the country with a player that sits among the nation's top 10 in both kills per set (Marthaler) and hitting percentage (Archer).

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 15 aces in the last five 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 has played three times over the last two weeks, finishing with five kills in five swings vs. Eastern Wash.