The Week Ahead

• Fresh off a 2-1 week in Utah, Sacramento State (2-4) returns to action this week for a tournament hosted by Boston College. The Hornets will play three matches over three days (Thursday-Saturday).
• This will mark the Hornet Volleyball program's first-ever trip to the state of Massachusetts.
• The Hornets will play Dartmouth on Thursday at 3 p.m. PT, followed by Boston College on Friday at 3 p.m. PT, and UAlbany on Saturday at 8 a.m. PT.
• The three opponents enter the week with a combined record of 11-3. That includes Boston College (6-0), UAlbany (4-2) and Dartmouth (2-1).
• Each of the Hornets' first 12 matches of the season will be part of a tournament. In fact, the Hornets do not play a non-conference foe all season that isn't part of a tournament.
• Sacramento State was nearly 3-0 last week, but lost at Utah Tech, 3-2 (16-14 in the fifth set). In that match, the Hornets held a 14-11 lead in the fifth, but squandered three match points.
• There are just two weeks left before Big Sky Conference play begins. After this week's tourney, the Hornets will host the Central Cal Challenge next week in a three-day event that also features CSU Bakersfield, Pacific and Fresno State.
• All three matches at this week's tournament will take place at the Margot Connell Recreation Center in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
• Sacramento State has never played either Dartmouth or UAlbany. The Hornets have played Boston College once, which resulted in a 3-0 Hornet win (15-9, 15-3, 15-3) on Sept. 29, 1995, in Hempstead, N.Y.
• On Monday, it was announced that junior libero Reese Ampi was named the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Ampi had 59 digs over three matches a week ago, including a career-high 31 at Utah Tech - the most digs by a Hornet in three years.
• Sacramento State played last week without the services of two starting middle blockers because of injury - junior Karlie Spohn and sophomore Skyler Gartin. Spohn started 26 matches in the middle last season while Gartin started the final 10 of the season. Spohn has yet to play this year, while Gartin played the first three matches.
• In the Hornets' opening week, they dropped matches to UTEP (#43), Pepperdine (#53) and UC Davis (#85) - teams that all finished last season among the top 90 teams in the country in the final RPI report.
• Five Hornets have started every match this season in outside hitters Victoria Marthaler and Greta Davis, setter Kate Doorn, middle blocker Ashlynn Archer, and libero Reese Ampi.
• Sacramento State is trying to avoid finishing sub-.500 in non-conference for the first time since 2022.

Multimedia Options

• Friday's match against Boston College will stream live on ESPN+.
• The Hornets' two matches against Dartmouth and UAlbany will not have a video stream.
• Like every match this season, live stats will be offered for all three contests.
• 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.

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.

Ampi Named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week

• Libero Reese Ampi was named the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week after combining for 59 digs over three matches, including a career-high 31 at Utah Tech on Saturday.
• The junior ranks second in the Big Sky with 4.46 digs per set, and has just two reception errors in 62 serves sent her way (97% success rate).
• A Big Sky all-tournament selection last year, she has posted double-figure digs in every match this season, including 14-plus in each of the last five contests.

Archer Off To A Big Start

• Middle blocker Ashlynn Archer has been playing at a high level the first two weeks of the season.
• She was the Hornets' lone representative on the Sacramento State Invitational all-tournament team, and is averaging 2.54 kills and 1.08 blocks per set to go along with a .388 hitting percentage.
• Among Big Sky leaders, she ranks fourth in both blocks and hitting percentage.
• She posted a career-high 16 kills vs. UC Riverside, 15 at Utah Tech, and 14 vs. Pepperdine.
• Archer has posted at least a .300 hitting percentage in all but one match (.231 at Southern Utah).
• Last season, Archer started 30 matches, and finished with 1.64 kps, 0.92 bps and a .317 hitting percentage. It was her solo block on match point that clinched the Hornets' Big Sky Tourney crown.

Notables

Sophomore outside hitter Victoria Marthaler, who transferred from Weber State, has already set her career high in kills on four occasions this season. That includes a career-best 24 at Utah Tech. The team  leader in kills, Marthaler ranks second in the Big Sky with 3.71 kills per set, and third with 4.04 points per set…setter Kate Doorn, the Hornets' lone preseason all-Big Sky selection, posted a career-high 56 assists at Utah Tech, and is fifth in the league with 7.83 assists per set…freshman defensive specialist Amy Ito has a team-best seven aces, and is seventh in the Big Sky with 0.37 aces per set…Sacramento State has yet to play a four-set match this season…freshman middle blocker Kelsey Heffner is hitting .412 with 1.07 kills and 0.53 blocks per set…the Hornets, selected third in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll, have a 114-49 conference record (.699 winning percentage) over the last 10 years.