THE WEEK AHEAD

• Fresh off a pair of home victories to open its inaugural season in the Big West, Sacramento State (7-6, 2-0) is back for another pair of home matches this week.
• The Hornets are one of five teams in the Big West with undefeated conference records through the first week. Those five teams also happen to the top five picks of the Big West preseason coaches poll - Cal Poly (1), Long Beach State (2), UC Santa Barbara (3), Utah Valley (4) and Sacramento State (5).
• The Hornets will play two of those opponents this week, including a Thursday matchup vs. Cal Poly at 7 p.m., followed by a Saturday match vs. UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m.
• This week's matches will conclude a season-long four-game homestand, and the Hornets will play seven of their first nine Big West matchups at home. The team finishes the conference season by playing seven of their last nine on the road (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).
• Both matches will stream this week on ESPN+ with Will Schilling and Mark Harrison on the call.
• Last week's victories came in the program's first-ever Big West matches as the Hornets spent the previous 30 seasons (1996-2025) in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets swept both California Baptist on Thursday, and UC Riverside on Saturday.
• Saturday's win allowed the Hornets to creep above the .500 mark for the first time (7-6). Sacramento State has won four of its last five with the only loss coming to Cal (17-15 in the fifth set) in San Jose.
• The Hornets have yet to lose at home this season (5-0), as the team went undefeated at the Sacramento State Invitational Sept. 3-5. The Hornets have won 15 of their last 16 matches at home dating back to last season. The lone loss during that stretch came in five sets to Northern Colorado on Nov. 8.
• Cal Poly is 6-6 overall and 2-0 in league. Four of its six losses have come to nationally ranked teams. The Mustangs have yet to win on an opponent's home floor (0-3). The Hornets are 6-13 in the all-time series with Cal Poly, and have dropped six straight. Sacramento State's last win over the Mustangs came in 2007 in San Francisco (3-1). The Hornets have not defeated Cal Poly at home since 1995 - a span of three straight losses.
• UC Santa Barbara enters the week with a 6-7 record and 2-0 in league. Last week's home wins over CSUN and CSU Bakersfield snapped a six-match losing streak. The Gauchos are 1-4 on an opponent's home floor, and that one win came at Arizona. The Hornets and UCSB have played just four times, and the Hornets are 1-3. Sacramento State won the last meeting via sweep in 2018. The only matchup in the Nest between the teams resulted in a 3-0 Gaucho victory in 2014.
• After this week's matches conclude, Sacramento State has just five home contests left in the season.

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• Every match the remainder of the season will stream on ESPN+ and feature live stats. That includes this week's matches with 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.

GAMLIN GOING OFF

• Freshman middle blocker Nikola Gamlin has been incredible, and is in the midst of one of the best freshman seasons in program history. She was named Big West Rookie of the Week on Monday.
• Gamlin easily leads the Big West, and ranks 31st in the nation with a .409 hitting percentage. In her last 51 swings (spanning four matches), she has 35 kills and one error (.667 hitting percentage).
• Her .632 hitting percentage in conference play also easily leads the Big West.
• Overall, she is averaging 1.94 kills and 0.71 blocks per set, and has hit above .500 six times. That includes an .857 mark at San Jose State (sixth in school history), and .800 vs. South Dakota State.
• Was a member of the National Excellence Program (NEP) in Canada multiple years.

MARTHALER HAVING ANOTHER HUGE SEASON

• Six-rotation outside hitter Victoria Marthaler is on her way to 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 10th in the nation with 219 kills, and 12th in the country with 247 points.
• She leads the Big West with 4.06 kills per set, and her 4.57 points per set rank second.
• Marthaler has posted double-figure kills in all 13 matches this season, and 32 consecutive matches dating back to last year. In addition, she has at least 14 kills in all but three contests this season.

FROM THE SERVICE LINE

• Sacramento State's 105 aces rank 18th in the nation. The Hornets have posted double-figure aces in seven of 13 matches, and have registered at least five aces in all but two contests.
• The Hornets have four players ranking among the Big West's top 10 in aces per set - Amy Ito (4th, 0.40), Makenna Wiepert (5th, 0.39), Victoria Marthaler (T-9th, 0.33) and Eleanor Weeks (T-9th, 0.33).

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 each of the last two weeks.
• She has averages of 8.96 assists, 2.48 digs, 0.35 blocks and 0.39 aces per set while hitting .338. Amazingly, in 65 attacks, she has yet to commit an error this year. That includes 22 kills in those 65 attempts.
• She has a team-high eight double-doubles, and her 484 assists rank 38th in the country.
• Her assist numbers would be even larger had the Hornets not started four matches this year in a 6-2.
• Wiepert now has 1,283 career assists - 484 in a Hornet uniform. Her career high for assists in a season was 518, set during her freshman season at UTSA in 2023.

NOTABLES

Middle blocker Skyler Gartin has been incredible, averaging 1.68 kills and 1.19 blocks per set to go with a .344 hitting percentage. She had eight kills vs. UC Riverside, and her .889 hitting percentage in that match ranked fourth in program history. Her .500 hitting percentage in league play ranks second in the Big West…libero Reese Ampi (3.48 dps) is just 22 digs shy of 1,000 for her career…sophomore Keonahi'ilani Solaita has 12+ kills in three straight matches, and her 4.17 kills per set in conference play is second in the Big West. In her last three matches, she is hitting .303 while averaging 3.64 kills per set…freshman Mia Molnar, also a member of Canada's National Excellence Program (NEP), has registered 10+ kills in three of the last four matches…the Hornets are 7-2 when hitting above .200, and 0-4 when hitting below that mark…head coach Ruben Volta now has 306 career victories.