THE WEEK AHEAD

• Winners of six straight and playing its best volleyball of the season, Sacramento State (15-8, 8-3) returns home after an impressive road trip that included wins at Idaho State (3-1) and Weber State (3-0).
• Saturday's sweep came against a Weber State team that been 5-0 at home vs. Big Sky opposition.
• The Hornets will play twice this week, beginning a stretch that will see the team play its final three home matches of the season. Sacramento will host Northern Arizona (19-5, 9-2) on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by Northern Colorado (11-13, 8-3) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
• This week is a huge one for the Hornets. Sacramento State is currently in a tie for second place in the Big Sky standings (just five matches remain in the regular season) with Northern Colorado, and both those teams trail first place Northern Arizona by just one game.
• Two wins this week and the Hornets would likely control their own destiny to win a Big Sky regular season championship. Sacramento State won a Big Sky Tournament title a year ago, and the Big Sky regular season title in 2023.
• The Hornets fell on the road to both teams earlier this season: 3-1 at Northern Colorado; 3-2 at Northern Arizona. In fact, the five-set loss at NAU (15-13 in the 5th) on Oct. 11 was the last time the Hornets were defeated. Since that time, the Hornets have won six straight, and lost three sets over that span.
• The top two current winning streaks in the Big Sky belong to Northern Arizona (7 straight) and the Hornets (6 straight). The top three teams (SAC, NAU and NC) have drawn some separation in the standings as there is a three-way tie for fourth place between the Montana schools and Portland State (6-5).
• The Hornets' winning streak is their longest since a 7-gamer in 2023. Should the Hornets win on Thursday, the 7-game streak would tie for their longest in eight years. Besides that seven game streak in 2023, Sacramento State hasn't won that many in a row since a 10-gamer in 2017.
• Of the Hornets' final five regular season matches, three will come at home as this week begins a three-match homestand that includes Nov. 14 vs. Portland State (that match will be Senior Night).
• The Hornets are 8-3 at home this season, and 5-0 vs. Big Sky opposition. Of those five wins against Big Sky competition, four have been sweeps. The only conference opponent the Hornets haven't swept at home was a five-set victory over Montana.
• On Monday, freshman outside hitter Keonahi'ilani Solaita was named the Big Sky's offensive player of the week. A Hornet has now won the honor four of the last seven weeks.
• The Hornets are attempting to win at least nine conference matches for the 11th straight year. The team team will also attempt to win at least 10 conference matches for the sixth consecutive season.
• Since 2015, the Hornets are 74-12 in the Nest vs. Big Sky competition.

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 44-25 all-time against Northern Arizona. The Hornets had won six straight in the series until the Lumberjacks' five-set win in Flagstaff on Oct. 11 (25-20, 21-25, 28-26, 20-25, 15-13).
• In that loss to NAU, Victoria Marthaler had 33 kills - her first of two straight matches with 33 kills.
• The Hornets have dominated at home vs. Northern Arizona, posting a 28-2 record in the Nest. The only wins for the Lumberjacks in Sacramento came in 2021 and 2011. Prior to that 2011 match, the Hornets had defeated Northern Arizona at home on 17 straight occasions.
• Since that 2021 loss to NAU, Sacramento State has won three straight home matches in the series.
• The Hornets are 18-22 against Northern Colorado - the only team in the Big Sky that Sacramento State has a losing record. One of those losses came earlier this season in Greeley, when the Bears won by a 25-18, 20-25, 25-14, 25-21 score.
• Sacramento State is 11-7 at home in the series. One of those victories came in last season's Big Sky Tournament championship match in which the Hornets won, 3-2, to claim the title.
• The Bears are hosting this year's Big Sky Tournament after winning the regular season title a year ago.

DURING THE WINNING STREAK

• The Hornets have won six straight matches, and have outscored the opposition, 24-3, over that span.
• That includes 15-1 over the last five matches after the streak began with a 3-2 win over Montana.
• The Hornets are averaging 13.90 kills, 12.81 assists, 12.00 digs, 2.52 aces and 2.43 blocks per set to go along with a .329 hitting percentage. In addition, all six starters are hitting at least .280.
• Conversely, opponents are averaging just 10.48 kills, 9.76 assists, 10.90 digs, 1.29 aces and 1.29 blocks per set while hitting .163.
• Sacramento State has 396 points during the streak compared to just 274 for the opposition.

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. 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.
• She is currently third in the nation and first in the Big Sky with a .445 hitting percentage. She also ranks eighth in the conference in both blocks (1.02 bps) and points (3.63 pps). Archer has hit better than .300 in all six matches during the winning streak, including .410+ in five of those matches.

RACKING UP THE ACES

• With the help of a combined 53 aces during the winning streak, Sacramento State has moved up to 20th in the nation with 1.93 aces per set. That mark is easily tops in the Big Sky. In conference play, the Hornets are averaging 2.15 aces per set.
• In league, Sacramento State players take up three of the top four spots among the Big Sky's leaders in aces. That includes Kate Doorn (1st, 0.58 aps), Keonahi'ilani Solaita (2nd with 0.48 aps) and Reese Ampi (4th with 0.42 aps).
• The Hornets have been much better from the line at home (2.45 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 4.87 kills per set, and 10th in the nation with 5.34 points per set. She easily leads the Big Sky in overall kills, and conference only kills per set (5.85).
• She has been named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week twice in the last five weeks and has posted 16+ kills in 12 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.
• Sacramento State is the only team in the country with a player that sits among the nation's top 10 in both kills per set (Marthaler) and hitting percentage (Archer).