THE WEEK AHEAD

• The Hornets (0-3) will play their home-opening matches at this week's Sacramento State Invitational at the Nest. The team will host Nevada, Saint Mary's and Texas Tech during the three-day tournament (Thursday-Saturday) that features a total of six matches.
• Sacramento State began the 2026 season last week when the team went 0-3 at the Asics Classic, hosted by Pepperdine in Malibu. The Hornets had chances in all three matches, falling in five sets to South Dakota State and host Pepperdine, and in four sets to Villanova.
• The tournament field was one of the toughest in the country as all three Hornet opponents finished among the top 50 teams in the nation in last year's final RPI rankings - South Dakota State (#36), Villanova (#39) and Pepperdine (#44).
• The Hornets will be hosting the Sacramento State Invitational for the eighth time in the last nine years (only year they didn't host was the 2020 covid spring season).
• Sacramento State welcomes Nevada, Saint Mary's and Texas Tech to the Nest. All four teams 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 Thursday and Friday, and game times Saturday will be 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
• Sacramento State will play the late match all three days, including Thursday vs. Nevada at 7 p.m., Friday vs. Texas Tech at 7 p.m., and Saturday against Saint Mary's at 1:30 p.m.
• Other tournament matchups include Saint Mary's vs. Texas Tech on Thursday at 4 p.m., Saint Mary's vs. Nevada on Friday at 4 p.m., and Texas Tech vs. Nevada on Saturday at 11 a.m.
• All six matches will be streamed on ESPN+, and have live stats.
• There will be a tournament champion, and an all-tournament team featuring one MVP and six additional all-tourney selections announced after the event.
• Saint Mary's will enter the week with a 2-1 record, while Texas Tech is 1-1 and Nevada 0-2. Nevada is led by first-year head coach Jason Borchin, who was a Hornet assistant coach from 2010-14.
• The Hornets are 38-14 all-time against Nevada, including a 23-3 home record. The most recent matches vs. the Wolf Pack both came at the Nest: 3-2 victory in 2023, and a 3-1 win in 2022.
• Sacramento State has played Texas Tech just once - a 3-1 victory in 2006 in El Paso, Texas, at the Sun Bowl Invitational.
• The Hornets are 28-11 vs. Saint Mary's, including an 11-7 mark at home. The Gaels, however, have won five of the last six meetings, including a four-set win over the Hornets at the Nest in 2023.

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• All six matches of the Sacramento State Invitational will be streamed on ESPN+ with 10th-year play-by-play man Will Schilling on the call. Former Sacramento State men's club volleyball player Mark Harrison will be an analyst for all three of the Hornet matches.
• Links for video and live stats can be found on the volleyball schedule at hornetsports.com.
• All home matches, and contests played inside a Big West venue, will stream on ESPN+ this season.

NEW CONFERENCE

• After 30 years in the Big Sky (1996-25), the team will transition 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.

THIS YEAR'S ROSTER

• Sacramento State is equipped with 10 returners and four starters from last year's 20-win squad.
• Among this year's returners are starters at outside hitter (Victoria Marthaler, Keonahi'ilani Solaita), middle blocker (Skyler Gartin) and libero (Reese Ampi).
• Marthaler was Big Sky MVP and honorable mention All-American, Solaita was the Big Sky Freshman of the Year, and Ampi was the Big Sky Libero of the Year.
• Both Marthaler and Ampi will serve as this year's team captains.
• The team did lose three starters, including a pair of first team all-conference selections in setter Kate Doorn and middle blocker Ashlynn Archer. Doorn, however, remains with the program as the reigning Big Sky Setter of the Year enters her first season as assistant coach with the Hornets.
• The team's roster features 15 players (five newcomers). Of those 15 players, only five are upperclassmen. The roster breaks down to a pair of seniors, three juniors, six sophomores and four freshmen.

PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF

• Six-rotation outside hitter Victoria Marthaler, coming off a huge season, was named to the all-tournament team at last week's Asics Classic.
• 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.
• Despite missing a good portion of the Hornets' preseason practices with injury, Marthaler posted at least 13 kills in all three matches of the tournament, and really came into her own with 21 kills against a huge front line at Pepperdine.
• 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.

IMPRESSIVE HORNET DEBUTS

• Sacramento State used a trio of newcomers in its starting lineup last week, and each fared well.
• Junior setter Makenna Wiepert, a transfer from UTSA, posted double-doubles in all three matches, averaging 6.79 assists and 2.64 digs per set. That included 39 assists and 16 digs at Pepperdine. She also had 34 assists and 11 digs vs. South Dakota State, and 22 assists and 10 digs vs. Villanova.
• Freshman middle blocker Nikola Gamlin hit .306 while averaging 1.86 kills and 0.86 blocks per set. In her first collegiate match, she had eight kills, five blocks and an .800 hitting percentage vs. South Dakota State. The .800 hitting percentage was tied for the ninth best mark in the Hornets' Div. I era.
• Freshman rightside Mia Molnar averaged 1.36 kills and 0.71 blocks per set, which included eight kills vs. South Dakota State, seven kills vs. Villanova, and five blocks at Pepperdine.

NOTABLES

The Hornets started three Canadians in all three matches last week - sophomore Charlee Lepp, and freshmen Nikola Gamlin and Mia Molnar…Lepp had at least nine kills in each match, including a career-best 12 at Pepperdine. She also posted a career-high 11 digs vs. Villanova, and finished the week with 2.14 kills, 1.29 digs and 0.50 blocks per set…sophomore outside hitter Keonahi'ilani Solaita, who has been battling injury, played in eight sets during the tournament, finishing with three kills and five digs. Most of her play was limited to the back row…libero Reese Ampi had 11+ digs in all three matches and finished the tournament with 2.79 digs per set. That included 16 vs. South Dakota State…middle blocker Skyler Gartin had five blocks in each of the final two matches of the tournament, and finished with the tourney with averages of 1.43 kills and 0.93 blocks. That includes a career-high tying 12 kills and .550 hitting percentage vs. South Dakota State.