Sacramento State

Sarah Chlebana will enter her 15th season with the program in 2025. After coaching the Hornets from 2008-14, she spent three years at Fresno State (2015-17), prior to making her return to Sacramento State in 2018.

Chlebana has spent 18 years on the Sacramento State campus as either a player or a coach. She starred for the Hornet volleyball team from 1997-00 where she was a four-year starter, helping the team to four consecutive Big Sky championships and NCAA Tournament appearances.

Chlebana was Ruben Volta’s first hire after he was named head coach prior to the 2008 season.

She was the assistant coach for a historic 2024 season that included the team winning the Big Sky Tournament championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. The team finished with a 21-12 overall record, 11-5 in league play, and Sacramento State went 3-0 at the Big Sky Tournament in front of large home crowds throughout the entire event. It was the team’s second straight postseason appearance, which includes an NIVC berth in 2023.

The Hornets never lost more than two matches in a row, went 12-2 at home and saw three players named to the all-Big Sky Tournament team (MVP Bridgette Smith, Caitlin Volkmann, Reese Ampi). In addition, both Smith and Volkmann were named first team all-Big Sky, including Smith receiving first team honors for the fourth straight season.

Sacramento State has finished 10-6 or better in the Big Sky standings each of the last five seasons, and has not lost more than two matches in a row since 2022.

In 2023, Sacramento State won its first Big Sky regular season championship since 2017 while going 22-12 overall, 13-3 in league play, and 13-5 at home. The 22 wins were the most in six years, and the team never lost more than two straight matches. The Hornets qualified for the NIVC for the fifth time in program history, and won a match at the postseason tournament (sweep of UNLV) for the first time since 1995.

Five players were named all-conference (most since 2016), and three were named to the first team - Bridgette Smith, Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin and Kalani Hayes. In fact, Smith was named honorable mention All-America and Big Sky MVP. She became just the second Hornet during the Div. I era (1991-pres.) to receive All-America accolades.

At home, the Hornets have been dominant over the last four seasons, combining to go 36-7 against Big Sky opposition at the Nest.

Chlebana, who accumulated 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs as a player, has a total of 22 years of coaching experience. That includes the 2007 season as an assistant at Div. I Long Island University, where she helped coach the team to the Northeast Conference regular season and tournament championships, and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Prior to coaching at Long Island, Chlebana spent the 2006-07 season as an assistant coach for the Belgian semi-professional team Volleybalclub Oudegem. In two years as an assistant at Syracuse (2004, 2005), she helped lead the Orange to back-to-back Big East Conference Tournament appearances for the first time since 1999. In addition, Syracuse combined to post a 50-17 overall record during her tenure with the team. She also spent one season (2003) as an assistant at Div. I Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.
 
As a player with the Hornets, she was a two-time second team all-Big Sky selection (1999-00) and 1998 Big Sky all-tournament choice. The Calgary, Alberta, native never missed a match during her career, and finished with 1,116 kills, 1,348 digs, 271 blocks and 85 aces.
 
Chlebana served as the team captain her senior year, and the Hornets combined to post a 92-40 overall record during her four seasons.

She graduated from Sacramento State in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, and a minor in mathematics.