Ruben Volta will enter his 19th season as head coach in 2026. A three-time Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year, Volta has guided the program to a combined 206-131 overall record and a 126-53 mark in league play over the last 11 seasons.
The program has won at least 20 matches three straight years, including a 20-10 overall mark and 12-4 in the Big Sky (second place) in 2025. Also, during the 2025 season, the Hornets won four Big Sky individual awards for the first time in program history - Victoria Marthaler (MVP), Kate Doorn (Setter of the Year), Reese Ampi (Libero of the Year) and Keonahi’ilani Solaita (Freshman of the Year).
The Hornets have finished no worse than 10-6 in conference each of the last six seasons, and during that time, Volta coached the program’s second and third Div. I All-Americans. That included Victoria Marthaler in 2025 and Bridgette Smith in 2023. Prior to that, Sacramento State hadn’t produced an All-American since 1995.
Since 2015, Sacramento State is 79-13 (.859 winning percentage) at home against Big Sky opposition. Also, during that 11-year stretch, the team won a Big Sky Tournament crown (2024), two Big Sky regular season titles (2023, 2017), back-to-back Big Sky South Division championships (2017, 2016), and has garnered at least three all-conference selections each of those seasons. In fact, the Hornets haven’t finished below .500 in league play 11 straight years, and have finished fifth or higher in the standings every season.
Volta has been a member of Sacramento State’s coaching staff a combined 26 years, including one year as the associate head coach (2007), five years as an assistant (2002-06), and two seasons as a volunteer assistant (2000-01).
During Volta’s 26-year tenure with the program, Sacramento State has combined for a 497-322 overall record (.607 winning percentage), a 278-139 mark (.667) in the Big Sky, eight Big Sky Tournament championships, seven regular season conference titles, eight NCAA Tournament appearances, and two trips to the NIVC.
Also, during that 26-year span, Sacramento State players have combined for 142 all-academic selections, 90 all-conference awards (including 33 first team selections), two All-Americans, six MVPs and six all-Pacific Region selections.
In addition, during every season of Volta’s head coaching tenure, the Hornets have had at least three Big Sky all-academic selections. That includes 12 during the 2025 season.
Volta’s players graduate as well. Of the 57 student-athletes that have expired their eligibility during Volta’s head coaching tenure, 56 have graduated.
Volta guided the Hornets to a historic 2024 season that included the team winning the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. 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.
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, the team never lost more than two straight matches, and Volta was named the Big Sky’s Coach of the Year for the third time in nine seasons. 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.
The 2017 squad won the Big Sky regular season title, the first for the program since 2007. That team also qualified for the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) - the first postseason appearance for the program since 2007.
The 2016 team won the program’s first Big Sky South Division title and earned the No. 2 seed at the Big Sky Tournament after posting a 20-12 overall record and 13-3 league mark.
Volta was named the Big Sky Coach of the Year after leading the 2015 Hornet squad to a 26-7 overall record and a 12-4 mark in league. Despite Sacramento State being picked 10th out of 12 teams in the Big Sky’s preseason coaches poll, the Hornets finished the regular season with the third best conference record. Moreover, Sacramento State made an 18-win improvement over the 2014 season with nearly the same roster. The 18-win improvement was the best mark in the nation among the NCAA’s 329 Div. I volleyball programs.
A graduate of Sacramento State in 1993 with a degree in physical education, Volta played four years for the Hornet men’s club team (1991-93, 1995). He starred for the 1995 squad that went undefeated and won the National Club Championship. That season, Volta earned All-America honors as a setter and was named all-tourney at the Big 10 Tournament. He was inducted into the Sacramento State Men’s Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2009.
In 1995, he opened the High Voltage volleyball facility in Sacramento, and began running a juniors club. In 1997, the club operated 18 juniors teams of different age groups.
In the seven years of High Voltage’s existence, the team qualified for the junior nationals (18-open division) five times, including an 11th-place finish in 1996. The junior nationals include the top 32 teams in the country.
He also spent the 2001 season coaching the 18-under Davis club team and spent time as an assistant coach at Rio Americano High School for one season (1999) where he helped guide the Raiders to the Sac-Joaquin Section championship. Prior to that, Volta spent two seasons as the varsity head coach at Country Day High School (1998-99) where the team finished third in the section championships. He started his coaching career at Grant High School in 1992, spending two years as the varsity head coach for the boys and girls teams.
Volta, who resides in Sacramento, also taught physical education at Sacramento’s St. Philomenes School from 1999-2002.
