THE WEEK AHEAD

• Sacramento State (17-9, 10-4) enters the final week of the regular season with a chance of grabbing a share of the Big Sky Conference regular season championship.
• The Hornets will play a pair of matches on the road. That includes Wednesday at Eastern Washington (2-24, 0-14) at 6 p.m., followed by Friday at Idaho (5-21, 2-12) at 5 p.m. The schedule, which is usually Thursday/Saturday matchups, was moved up a day to Wednesday/Friday to allow teams a couple days of rest before the Big Sky Tournament begins on Monday.
• The Hornets are just a game back of first place in the loss column, trailing first place Northern Arizona (12-3) and second place Northern Colorado (11-4). Northern Arizona plays at Northern Colorado on Friday evening.
• Should Sacramento State win both matches this week, and Northern Colorado beat NAU on Friday, that would set up a three-way tie for first place and those three teams would each win a share of the Big Sky regular season title. In that scenario, Northern Colorado would earn the No. 1 seed, Northern Arizona the No. 2 seed, and the Hornets would be the No. 3 seed. 
• Should that happen, the regular season championship would mark the third straight year the Hornets have won a Big Sky title. That includes regular season title in 2023, and tournament title in 2024.
• The Big Sky Tournament begins next week with four quarterfinal matches on Monday, two semifinals on Tuesday, and the championship match on Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving).
• Sacramento State hosted last year's Big Sky Tournament by defeating Northern Colorado in five sets. The Hornets beat Portland State (3-1) in the quarters, and Idaho State (3-0) in the semis.
• Eastern Washington enters Wednesday with a 2-24 overall record and 0-14 conference mark. The Eagles have lost 16 straight with their last win coming at home vs. Seattle on Sept. 18. EWU is 1-7 at home. Sacramento State defeated the Eagles (25-16, 25-16, 25-16) earlier this year at the Nest.
• Idaho is 5-21 overall and 2-12 in conference play. The Vandals' two league wins have both come against Eastern Washington. Idaho is 2-7 at home, and Friday will be the team's Senior Night. Sacramento State defeated the Vandals earlier this season, 25-18, 25-18, 25-15, at the Nest.
• On Monday, libero Reese Ampi was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week for the second time. A Hornet has been named offensive, or defensive, player of the week nine times this season.
• Sacramento State has won at least 10 conference matches for the sixth consecutive season. The longest streak for the program achieving 10+ Big Sky wins was 12 from 1996-2007. Should the Hornets win twice this week, 12 league wins would be their second most in eight years (13 in 2023).
• Head coach Ruben Volta is just four wins shy of career number 300. He is currently 296-256.

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 46-18 all-time vs. Eastern Washington, and have won nine 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 dropped just six sets during those nine consecutive wins.
• Sacramento State is 15-12 on the road vs. EWU, and has won six straight at Reese Court. The last Eagle win in Cheney took place on Oct. 8, 2015 (3-1 score).
• 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. 
• Sacramento is 14-6 all-time vs. Idaho, as the Vandals did not join the Big Sky until 2014.
• The Hornets have won 10 straight in the series, including four straight sweeps. The last Idaho victory came in 2019 when the Vandals won in five sets in Moscow on Sept. 28, 2019.
• Sacramento State is 4-3 on the road at Idaho, including three straight wins in Moscow. The last Hornets loss at Idaho took place on Sept. 28, 2019 (3-2 score).

THE QUARTERBACK

• Somewhat lost in the offensive explosions by Victoria Marthaler and Ashlynn Archer has been the brilliant play of senior setter Kate Doorn.
• She has been the quarterback of one of the Big Sky's top offenses as the Hornets lead the conference in hitting percentage (.262) and points (17.65 pps) in league play. In fact, that hitting percentage is 37 points higher than the next closest team - Northern Arizona (.225).
• In Big Sky play, she leads the conference in aces (0.54 aps) and ranks second in assists (10.33 aps). She has 10 double-doubles this year and has a well rounded line (conference play) of 10.33 assists, 2.33 digs, 0.54 aces and 0.61 blocks per set. She is also hitting .357 with just four errors in 56 attempts.
• Despite playing her freshman season at Idaho, and being part of a 6-2 offense during her first two years as a Hornet, she has already racked up 2,948 career assists. She has 2,431 in a Hornet uniform, which is the 10th most in program history.

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 and the country.
• She is currently 13th in the nation and first in the Big Sky with a .429 hitting percentage. She also ranks fourth in the conference with 1.06 blocks per set in league play. Archer had hit .300+ in eight straight matches until that streak was snapped vs. PSU. She has hit at least .300 in all but four matches.
• She is the only player in the Big Sky to earn both the conference's offensive (Sept. 22) and defensive player (Oct. 20) of the week awards.

RACKING UP THE ACES

• Sacramento State ranks 22nd in the nation with 1.93 aces per set. The team easily lead the Big Sky in aces overall, and aces in conference play (1.98 per set).
• In league, Sacramento State players take up three of the top four spots among Big Sky leaders in aces - Kate Doorn (1st, 0.54 aps), Reese Ampi (3rd, 0.38) and Keonahi'ilani Solaita (4th, 0.37). 

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 sixth in the nation with 4.97 kills per set, and eighth in the nation with 5.44 points per set. She easily leads the Big Sky in overall kills, and conference only kills per set (5.78).
• She has been named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week three times, and has posted 16+ kills in 15 straight matches. She has posted 30+ kills on three occasions, and if the season ended today, the 4.97 kills per set would rank as the fourth best mark in program single-season history.