THE WEEK AHEAD

• With just three matches left in the regular season and plenty to play for, Sacramento State (16-9, 9-4) will play its final home game of the season vs. Portland State (11-13, 7-6) on Friday at 7 p.m. It will be the only match of the week for both teams.
• Friday will also be Senior Night at Sacramento State. Seniors Ashlynn Archer, Greta Davis, Kate Doorn, Mia Guevara, Abbey Kadillak and Karlie Spohn will be honored for their contributions to the program in a pre-match ceremony.
• Friday will also be the last matches in the Nest for a pair of Portland State seniors - Tyra Schaub and Sydney Stenson.
• Sacramento State split a pair of home matches last week against the two of the Big Sky's top teams, including a win over Northern Arizona (3-2) and loss to Northern Colorado (3-2). The loss to Northern Colorado snapped a seven-match win streak, tied for the Hornets' longest in eight years.
• Currently, those are the top three teams in the Big Sky as NAU sits in first with a 10-3 league mark, and both Sacramento State and Northern Colorado are tied for second at 9-4.
• To have a chance at a share of its third straight Big Sky title (2023 regular season, 2024 tournament), Sacramento State will need to win its final three matches and hope for one Northern Arizona loss.
• The top eight teams in the league qualify for the Big Sky Tournament, which will be played in Greeley, Colo. during Thanksgiving Week. Four quarterfinal matches take place on Monday, Nov. 24, followed by two semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 25, and the championship on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 6 p.m. PT. 
• On Monday, outside hitter Victoria Marthaler was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week for the third time in six weeks. If you include Keonahi'ilani Solaita's award last week, a Hornet has received the honor four times in the last six weeks.
• Portland State will enter Friday's match in sixth place with a 7-6 record. The Vikings have won four of their last six matches, including a four-set home victory over Northern Colorado last week. The team is 3-5 when playing on an opponent's home floor, and 2-3 against Big Sky opposition.
• The Hornets are 9-4 at home, and 6-1 at home vs. the Big Sky. The team had won nine straight home matches until Saturday's loss to Northern Colorado snapped that streak.
• Sacramento State has won at least nine conference matches for the 11th straight year. A win on Friday would give the program at least 10 conference victories for the sixth consecutive season. The longest streak for the program achieving 10+ Big Sky wins was 12 from 1996-2007.
• Since 2015, the Hornets are 75-13 in the Nest vs. Big Sky competition.
• Head coach Ruben Volta is just five wins from career number 300. He is currently 295-256.

MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS

• Every match the remainder of the season will stream on ESPN+.
• In addition, live stats are offered for every match.
• Games on ESPN+ can be found on watchespn.com and the ESPN app.
• Multimedia links can be found next to each match on the volleyball schedule at hornetsports.com.

AGAINST THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS

• Sacramento State is 55-28 all-time against Portland State, which includes a victory over the Vikings earlier this season in Portland (3-1). 
• The 83 matches played is the longest series for Sacramento State against any opponent. The Hornets' rivalry against UC Davis is just one match behind as the Hornets are 54-28 in that series.
• Sacramento State has won four straight in the series, with each of the last three coming via 3-1 scores. The Hornets went 3-0 against the Vikings a year ago, which included a 3-1 victory in the Big Sky Tournament quarterfinals in the Nest.
• Sacramento State is 28-5 at home vs. Portland State and has won three straight in the Nest. The last Viking win in Sacramento came via 3-2 score in the 2022 regular season finale (Nov. 18, 2022).
• At one point during the series, the Hornets won 23 straight against the Vikings - a streak that lasted from 1989 until 2004.
• The Hornets are 43-16 in Big Sky matches against the Vikings.

THE QUARTERBACK

• Somewhat lost in the offensive explosions by Victoria Marthaler and Ashlynn Archer has been the brilliant play of senior setter Kate Doorn.
• She has been the quarterback of one of the Big Sky's top offenses as the Hornets lead the conference in hitting percentage (.270) and points (17.62 pps) in league play. In fact, that hitting percentage is 38 points higher than the next closest team - Weber State (.232).
• In Big Sky play, she leads the conference in both assists (10.32) and aces (0.56). Doorn has nine double-doubles this year and has a well rounded line (conference play) of 10.32 assists, 2.30 digs, 0.56 aces and 0.54 blocks per set. She is also hitting .362 with just four errors in 47 attempts.
• Despite playing her freshman season at Idaho, and being part of a 6-2 offense during her first two years as a Hornet, she has already racked up 2,906 career assists. She has 2,389 in a Hornet uniform, which is the 10th most in program history.

AMONG THE CONFERENCE AND NATION'S BEST

• Senior middle blocker Ashlynn Archer has been incredible this season, and has established herself as one of the top players in the Big Sky Conference and the country.
• She is currently fourth in the nation and first in the Big Sky with a .441 hitting percentage. She also ranks seventh in the conference in blocks (1.04 bps) and ninth in points (3.64 pps). Archer has hit .300+ in eight straight, and 11 of the last 12 matches. She has hit at least .300 in all but three matches.
• She is the only player in the Big Sky to earn both the conference's offensive (Sept. 22) and defensive player (Oct. 20) of the week awards.

RACKING UP THE ACES

• With the help of 71 aces over the last month, Sacramento State ranks 20th in the nation with 1.93 aces per set. They easily lead the Big Sky in aces overall, and aces in conference play (2.08 per set).
• In league, Sacramento State players take up three of the top four spots among Big Sky's leaders in aces - Kate Doorn (1st, 0.56 aps), Reese Ampi (2nd, 0.42) and Keonahi'ilani Solaita (4th, 0.40). 
• The Hornets have been much better from the line at home (2.31 aps) compared to the road (1.29 aps).

NEWCOMER PAYING HUGE DIVIDENDS

• A transfer from Weber State, sophomore outside hitter Victoria Marthaler has made a massive impact during her first season with the Hornets.
• One of the top outside hitters in the country, she currently ranks seventh in the nation with 4.98 kills per set, and eighth in the nation with 5.46 points per set. She easily leads the Big Sky in overall kills, and conference only kills per set (5.86).
• She has been named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week three times in the last six weeks and has posted 16+ kills in 14 straight matches.
• With back-to-back matches of 33 kills at Northern Arizona, and at home vs. Montana, she became the first Hornet in 30 years to post back-to-back 30-kill matches (All-American Jill Haas in 1995). The 33 kills are tied for the seventh best mark in program history. She has three 30-kills matches this year.