The Week Ahead

• The Hornets open the 2025 season by hosting the three-day, four-team Sacramento State Invitational this Friday-Sunday.
• Sacramento State welcomes UTEP, UC Davis and Pepperdine to the Nest. All four teams will play once each day, and play three matches over three days.
• Games will be played at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, and game times Sunday will be 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
• Sacramento State will play the late match all three days, including Friday at 7 p.m. vs. UTEP, Saturday at 7 p.m. vs. UC Davis, and Saturday at 1:30 p.m. vs. Pepperdine.
• Other tournament matchups include Pepperdine vs. UC Davis on Friday at 4 p.m., Pepperdine vs. UTEP on Saturday at 4 p.m., and UC Davis vs. UTEP on Sunday at 11 a.m.
• Five of the tournament's six matches will be streamed on ESPN+, and all six will have live stats. The only match that will not be streamed is Sunday's 11 a.m. match featuring UC Davis and UTEP.
• There will be a tournament champion, and an all-tournament team featuring one MVP and six additional all-tourney selections announced after the event.
• All four teams are playing their season-opening matches at the tournament.
• The tournament field is stacked as all four teams were very good a year ago. UTEP went 27-6, qualified for the NCAA Tournament, and finished No. 43 in the RPI. Pepperdine went 17-11, 14-4 in a tough WCC and was 53rd in the RPI. UC Davis finished 19-10 and 85th in the RPI. Sacramento State finished 21-12, won the Big Sky Tournament and qualified for the NCAA Tournament (104 in the RPI).
• This will mark the seventh straight non-covid season the Hornets will host the Sacramento State Invitational (the 2020 pandemic-shortened season featured only conference matches).
• The Hornets have played UTEP just twice, and won each of those matches in straight sets on the road. That includes wins in El Paso in 2006 and 2016.
• Sacramento State is 54-27 all-time vs. UC Davis, but the Aggies have won three straight and five of the last six meetings in the series. The Hornets are 23-11 at home against the Aggies, including a four-set victory in the Nest on Aug. 27, 2021. The Hornets' 81 matches vs. UCD is the second longest rivalry against any opponent - trailing only 82 matches vs. Portland State (Hornets are 54-28 in that series).
• The Hornets have dropped all three matches against Pepperdine, including losses in 2017, 1998 and 1985. Sacramento State did not win a set in any of those matchups. The teams' last meeting came in Reno, Nev., on Sept. 15, 2017 - a 3-0 Pepperdine victory (25-22, 25-16, 26-24). 

Multimedia Options

• Five of the six matches during the tournament with be video streamed on ESPN+ with Will Schilling handling the play-by-play. Like every match this season, live stats will also be offered.
• Due to a scheduling conflict, Sunday morning's UC Davis vs. UTEP matchup will not be streamed. 
• For the fifth straight year, all of Sacramento State's home matches as well as road games at a Big Sky Conference venue, will be streamed on ESPN+.
• Matches 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.

Wrapping Up The 2024 Season

• The Hornets are coming off a 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.
• The Hornets hosted last year's Big Sky Tournament (after winning the regular season title in 2023), and defeated Portland State (3-1), Idaho State (3-0) and Northern Colorado (3-2) to win the title. In the championship match, the Hornets overcame a 2-1 sets deficit in front of the home crowd.
• The Hornets feature nine returners, and four starters - middle blockers Karlie Spohn and Ashlynn Archer, setter Kate Doorn and libero Reese Ampi. Spohn (26) shared the starting duties with Skyler Gartin (10) at one middle blocker spot, while Archer started 30 times at the position.
• The team did lose three starters to graduation, all of which were all-conference selections a year ago, including Bridgette Smith (1st team), Caitlin Volkmann (1st team) and Ellie Tisko (2nd team). Smith, the Big Sky MVP and an All-American in 2023, owns the second most kills (1,829) in program history while Volkmann has the sixth most kills (1,457).

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.

Who Will Start On The Outside?

• There will be plenty of competition for the two starting outside hitter spots that were vacated with the graduation of Bridgette Smith and Caitlin Volkmann.
• There are six players who will compete for an outside spot, including Great Davis, Victoria Marthaler, Allison Mimbs (returning from injury) and a trio of freshmen in Charlee Lepp, Keonahi'ilani Solaita and Eleanor Weeks.

Doorn Named Preseason All-Big Sky

• Setter Kate Doorn was named to the preseason all-Big Sky Conference team after helping quarterback a Hornet offense last season that finished first in the Big Sky in assists (12.13 per set), second in kills (13.23 per set) and third in hitting percentage (.232).
• She finished the season with 6.57 assists, 0.35 aces and 1.91 digs per set, and raised those numbers to 7.14 assists and 2.19 digs per set in Big Sky play.
• Doorn ran a 6-2 offense with Hailey Plugge, who has since graduated. Should the Hornets run a 6-2 offense again in 2025, freshman Kaylee Piepho will join Doorn as the two setters.

Notables

Over the last 10 seasons, Sacramento State has combined for a 114-49 conference record (.699 winning percentage), and a 72-12 home record against league foes during that span…that includes at least 10 Big Sky wins in five straight, and nine of the last 10 years…the Hornets have the most freshmen on the roster (6) since the 2022 squad had seven freshmen…that 2022 class included current Hornets Archer, Davis, Guevara, Kadillak and Spohn…the middle blocker room is loaded with talent as starters Ashlynn Archer, Karlie Spohn and Skyler Gartin return…they are joined by 6-3 freshman Kelsey Heffner who stands two inches taller than any other Hornet on this year's roster…the Hornets' roster features 16 players - five seniors, three juniors, two sophomores, and six freshmen…during the preseason, Sacramento State played an Alumni Game, and a scrimmage against Boise State in Reno.