THE WEEK AHEAD

• Sacramento State (10-11, 5-5) travels to Southern California this week to play a pair of matches on back-to-back days. The Hornets will play at UC Riverside (4-17, 0-10) on Friday, followed by a matchup with California Baptist (5-16, 2-8) on Saturday. Both will start at 6 p.m.
• The Hornets have dropped three straight after beginning the conference season 5-2. That includes dropping a pair last week to Utah Valley.
• Of the team's 10 Big West matches thus far, only three have been on the road. That includes four-set victories at UC San Diego and UC Irvine, and Saturday's 3-0 loss at Utah Valley.
• With just eight matches left in the regular season, the Hornets are currently locked in a four-way tie for sixth place in the conference standings. Only the top six in the conference qualify for the Big West Tournament, which takes place Nov. 25-28 in San Luis Obispo.
• The Hornets' current three-match losing streak is tied for a season high as the team opened the season with three straight losses back in August.
• Overall, Sacramento State is 3-3 on the road this season. Of the Hornets' final eight Big West matches, six will be on the road. That includes a four-match road trip to conclude the regular season.
• UC Riverside had a 4-7 non-conference record, but has yet to win in Big West play. The Highlanders dropped a pair of five-set matches (17-15 on Saturday) to California Baptist last week. The Hornets defeated UC Riverside in the Nest on Sept. 26 by scores of 25-11, 25-18, 27-25. In that match, Sacramento State hit a season-high .413, including a combined .769 from its three middle blockers - Skyler Gartin (8-0-9), Kelsey Heffner (7-1-8) and Nikola Gamlin (6-0-9).
• Sacramento State is 11-6 all-time vs. UC Riverside, and has won four straight in the series. Amazingly, the Hornets and Highlanders have never played in Riverside. Of those 17 meetings, the Hornets are 4-2 at home and 7-4 on neutral floors.
• The last victory for UC Riverside in the series came in five sets in 2009 in Sacramento.
• California Baptist, which also joined the Big West this season (formerly of the WAC), enters the week with a 5-16 overall record and 2-8 conference mark. The Lancers had dropped their first eight Big West matches prior to winning a pair of five setters over UC Riverside last week.
• The Hornets and Lancers played their first-ever Big West match on Sept. 24 in the Nest, which resulted in a 3-0 Sacramento State sweep (25-12, 25-18, 25-23). The Hornets hit .400 compared to CBU's .174.
• California Baptist was an NAIA member from 1969-2013, prior to joining the NCAA Div. II ranks from 2013-2018, and finally Div. I status from 2018-pres. The program used to be in the WAC.

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• Every match the remainder of the season will stream on ESPN+ and have live stats. Home matches feature 10th-year play-by-play man Will Schilling on the call alongside analyst and Sacramento State men's club volleyball Hall of Famer Mark Harrison.
• Links for video and live stats are next to each game on the volleyball schedule at hornetsports.com.

NEW CONFERENCE

• After 30 years in the Big Sky (1996-25), the team has transitioned to its first year in the Big West. Gone are out-of-state conference road trips to Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, Washington and Oregon. In fact, of the team's nine road matches in Big West play, eight will be played in California.
• In its 30 years in the Big Sky, Sacramento State ripped off 10 regular season titles, and 10 tournament crowns. In conference play, the Hornets were 326-147 (.689 win%) against Big Sky opposition.

POTENT IN THE MIDDLE

• The Hornets' middle blocker tandem of junior Skyler Gartin and freshman Nikola Gamlin has been lethal. The two have combined to form one of the more formidable middle duos in the Big West.
• Both rank in the Big West's top five in hitting percentage as Gartin is third with a .391 and Gamlin fourth with a .384. Both players have 155 kills, and combined, they are hitting .388.
• In conference play, Gartin is third with a .467 hitting percentage, and Gamlin is eighth with a .383.
• The two have started all 21 matches - Gamlin has averages of 1.91 kills and 0.79 blocks per set. Gartin is averaging 1.89 kills and 1.12 blocks per set, and the blocks are sixth in the Big West.
• Gartin's .889 hitting percentage (8-0-9) vs. UC Riverside was the fourth best mark in program history, while Gamlin owns the sixth best mark with her .857 (12-0-14) at San Jose State.
• Over her last seven matches, Gartin is on fire, averaging 2.38 kills while hitting .491 (62-5-116).

AMPI NOW SECOND IN BIG WEST IN DIGS

• Libero Reese Ampi combined for 42 digs over seven sets last week in the two matches vs. Utah Valley.  That average of 6.00 digs per set vaulted her into second place in the Big West with 4.00 digs per set in conference play. That included a season-high 25 digs in four sets at home vs. Utah Valley.
• Ampi, who was named Big Sky Libero of the Year last season, collected her 1,000th career dig at UC San Diego, and now has 1,097 digs during her three-year Sacramento State career.

MARTHALER HAVING ANOTHER BIG SEASON

• Six-rotation outside hitter Victoria Marthaler is currently having a second straight big season.
• Last year, she was honorable mention All-America, Big Sky MVP, all-Pacific Region, first team all-Big Sky, and Big Sky all-tournament. She was also selected Big West preseason all-conference this year.
• Marthaler ranked sixth in the nation a year ago with 4.89 kills per set, and seventh in the country with 5.38 points per set. She upped that average to a ridiculous 5.72 kills per set in conference play.
• This season, she has been named all-tournament three times, and currently ranks 11th in the nation with 349 kills, and 17th in the country with 387.0 points. She is also closing in on 1,000 kills (968).
• Marthaler leads the Big West in both kills per set (4.20) and points per set (4.66).
• Marthaler has registered double figures in kills in 39 of her last 40 matches, and posted 12+ kills in each of her last seven matches.

FROM THE SERVICE LINE

• Sacramento State's average of 1.98 aces per set lead the Big West and rank 12th in the nation. The Hornets posted a season-high 15 aces vs. Cal State Fullerton - tied for second most in program history.
• The Hornets have four players ranking among the Big West's top 20 in aces per set, including two of the top three leaders - Makenna Wiepert (2nd with 0.43 per set) and Amy Ito (3rd with 0.40 per set).

WIEPERT HAVING QUITE THE DEBUT

• Junior setter Makenna Wiepert, a transfer from UTSA, is having a very impressive debut season with the Hornets. That includes being named Big West Setter of the Week on two occasions.
• She has averages of 9.30 assists, 2.51 digs, 0.39 blocks and 0.43 aces per set. She also has a team-best 11 double-doubles. In addition, she captured her 1,500th career assist last week vs. Utah Valley.
• She currently ranks second in the Big West in both assists and aces.       

QUICK HITS

Hornets are 10-3 when hitting above .200, and 0-8 when hitting below…Hornets are 6-1 when finishing with 10+ team blocks…164 aces are 35 more than any other Big West team…last week's losses to Utah Valley dropped the Hornets in the RPI rankings from 158th in the nation to 213.