THE WEEK AHEAD

• Winners of six of the last seven matches, Sacramento State (9-6, 2-1) is back in action this week when the Hornets travel to Northern Colorado (5-11, 2-2) on Thursday at 5 p.m. PT, and Northern Arizona (12-5, 2-2) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
• Two weeks into the conference season, there are no undefeated teams remaining, and the Hornets are one of five Big Sky squads with one conference loss. So far, it appears there is no dominant team in the Big Sky this season.
• Sacramento State is coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland State on Friday night. This week completes a three-match road trip for the Hornets - the longest for the team in conference play.
• Sacramento State has lost just once Sept. 12, and that was three-set defeat at Montana.
• The Hornets, who possess two of the Big Sky's top players in senior middle blocker Ashlynn Archer and sophomore outside hitter Victoria Marthaler, are 2-3 in true road matches this season. The win at Portland State snapped a three-match road losing streak.
• Sacramento State's last two wins have been impressive, including a 3-0 destruction at home of Weber State (25-14, 25-22, 25-12), followed by a four-set victory over a Portland State team that began the conference year with sweeps of Idaho State and Montana State.
• Since dropping their first three matches of the season, the Hornets have won nine of the last 12.
• Once this week concludes, the Hornets will play four straight and seven of the next nine at home.
• Northern Colorado (5-11, 2-2), the defending Big Sky regular season champions, has played just once at home in league (3-1 victory over Eastern Washington). In fact, the team has played just four home games this season (3-1). Don't let the Bears' record fool you, as the team played a ridiculously brutal non-conference schedule. They played 10 opponents currently ranked among the top 100 teams in the nation - easily the toughest schedule in the Big Sky.
• Northern Arizona (12-5, 2-2), which had an eight match winning streak earlier this season, dropped a pair of matches last week to the Montana schools. Like Northern Colorado, NAU has played just four times at home and is a perfect 4-0 in those matches. The Lumberjacks swept Idaho in their Big Sky opener at home, but have since played three straight road matches.
• The Hornets are the defending Big Sky Tournament champions, won a Big Sky regular season title in 2023, and own a 116-50 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 18-21 all-time vs. Northern Colorado - the only team in the Big Sky in which Sacramento State has a losing record.
• The Hornets have won three of the last four meetings, which includes overcoming a 2-1 deficit to beat the Bears in five sets in last season's Big Sky Tournament championship match at the Nest.
• Northern Colorado won last year's Big Sky regular season title, and will host this year's tournament.
• Sacramento State is just 4-12 when playing at Northern Colorado, but the Hornets have won each of the last two meetings in Greeley via three-set sweep, including 25-20, 25-23, 28-26 a year ago.
• Sacramento State is 44-24 vs. Northern Arizona, and has won each of the last six meetings. The Lumberjacks have not beaten the Hornets since a 3-0 sweep in Flagstaff on Nov. 6, 2021. Of those six consecutive victories, four have come via 3-0 scores.
• Playing in Flagstaff (elevation of 7,000 feet) has never been easy. The Hornets are 13-19 when playing on NAU's home floor. Though the Hornets have won three straight in Flagstaff....prior to that, the Lumberjacks had won 13 of 14 meetings, including 12 straight between 2010 and 2021.

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 (.465), and sixth in points (3.73 pps). 
• The hitting percentage is fourth best in the nation, as Archer has an incredible streak of hitting better than .475 in nine of her last 10 matches (she hit under that mark at Montana).
• A middle blocker with more than three kills per set is rare, and Archer is at 3.02. 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.
• Marthaler, a six-rotation player, has been extremely valuable in helping overcome the losses of first team all-conference outside hitters Bridgette Smith and Caitlin Volkmann. 
• She currently ranks 23rd in the nation with 4.42 kills per set, and 28th with 4.92 points per set. Those averages both rank second in the Big Sky.
• On Monday, Marthaler was named the Big Sky Player of the Week after registering a career-best 28 kills at Portland State. Her 6.30 kills per set in conference play easily leads the Big Sky.
• Marthaler has recorded 17-plus kills in four straight matches, and over that span, is averaging 6.36 kills per set to go along with a .354 hitting percentage. She is hitting .313 in Big Sky play.

NOTABLES

In conference play, setter Kate Doorn ranks first in assists (11.10 aps) and second in aces (0.70 aps)…Sacramento State has hit better than .300 in six of its last seven matches, and leads the Big Sky in overall hitting percentage (.254), and hitting percentage in conference play (.312).