SACRAMENTO, Calif. — One year removed from a 20-win season and a Big Sky Conference South Division title, the Sacramento State volleyball program was selected to finish third out of 12 teams in the Big Sky Conference's preseason coaches poll.
Tenth-year head coach Ruben Volta will oversee a roster that features 12 returners from a year ago, including four starters. Last year, the Hornets posted a 20-12 overall record, a 13-3 mark in the Big Sky, and the team was perfect at home against conference opposition (8-0). The Hornets finished the regular season with eight straight wins and eventually pushed that winning streak to nine with a Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal victory over Eastern Washington.
The Hornets have posted back-to-back seasons with 20-plus wins, combining for a 46-19 overall mark and 25-7 in league over that span.
For volleyball, the Big Sky is split up into two six-team divisions, and the Hornets won the South Division last year and assumed the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. North Dakota won the North Division, and by virtue of having a better conference record than the Hornets, was the No. 1 seed and earned the right to host the Big Sky Tournament. The Hornets would eventually lose in the semifinal round, 3-1, to Northern Arizona at last year's postseason event.
North Dakota, which also won last year's tournament title, received 10 first place votes, 120 points overall and was selected by the league's coaches to repeat as conference champions. Trailing North Dakota in the poll were Northern Colorado (103 points, two first-place votes), Sacramento State (99), Northern Arizona (96), Portland State (82), Idaho State (71), Idaho (63), Weber State (69), Eastern Washington (44), Montana State (24), Montana (21) and Southern Utah (20).
A year ago, the Hornets were selected fifth in the coaches poll before winning the South Division title.
The winner of the regular season championship will host the Big Sky Tournament on Nov. 16-18. The winner of the conference tournament receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Among this year's returners are starters at setter (senior Kennedy Kurtz), outside hitter (senior Shannon Boyle, junior Mikaela Nocetti) and middle blocker (junior Brie Gathright). Kurtz was a first team all-conference selection after quarterbacking an offense that finished first in the league in both kills (13.80) and assists (12.83) per set. Boyle was a second team all-league choice after leading the team in kills with 3.49 per set.
Also returning are seniors Hannah Meadows, Brigitte Murdock, Julia Wright and Erin Cochran, juniors Lana Brown and Skyler Takeda, and sophomores Sarah Davis and Paige Swinney. The four newcomers are freshmen Cianna Andrews, Sarah Falk, Macey Hayden and Ashtin Olin.
Sacramento State will have to compensate for the losses of rightside hitter Madeline Cannon, middle blocker Courtney Dietrich and libero Lexie Skalbeck. All three received second team all-league honors a year ago and Skalbeck was named the Big Sky's Libero of the Year.
During the Hornets' season-opening tournament in Queens, N.Y. on Aug. 25-26, Sacramento State will play UConn and host St. John's on Friday, and both Holy Cross and New Hampshire on Saturday. The Hornets will play 11 of their first 12 matches away from Colberg Court with the home opener scheduled to take place on Aug. 30 vs. Pacific at 7 p.m.
PRESEASON POLL - Total Points (First Place Votes)
1. North Dakota - 120 (10)
2. Northern Colorado - 103 (2)
3. Sacramento State - 99
4. Northern Arizona - 96
5. Portland State - 82
6. Idaho State - 71
7. Idaho - 63
8. Weber State - 49
9. Eastern Washington - 44
10. Montana State - 24
11. Montana - 21
12. Southern Utah - 20

April 4, 2018
SARAH CHLEBANA RETURNS AS ASSISTANT VOLLEYBALL COACH


November 28, 2017
VOLLEYBALL OPENS NIVC PLAY TODAY VS UC IRVINE AT 4:30 PM

November 26, 2017
VOLLEYBALL OPENS PLAY AT THE NIVC ON TUESDAY AGAINST UC IRVINE



November 16, 2017
KURTZ NAMED MVP, VOLTA COACH OF THE YEAR, FOUR HORNETS NAMED ALL-LEAGUE

November 15, 2017
PARKING INFORMATION FOR THE BIG SKY VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

November 13, 2017
VOLLEYBALL HOSTS EIGHT-TEAM BIG SKY TOURNAMENT THURSDAY-SATURDAY






October 16, 2017
NOCETTI NAMED THE BIG SKY OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

October 5, 2017
IN BATTLE FOR BIG SKY SUPREMACY, VOLLEYBALL BEATS NORTH DAKOTA


September 28, 2017
VOLLEYBALL REMAINS PERFECT IN THE BIG SKY, POSTS 3-0 ROAD WIN AT MONTANA

September 26, 2017
WINNERS OF 8 OF THE LAST 10, VOLLEYBALL TO PLAY TWO ROAD MATCHES THIS WEEK

September 21, 2017
HOME WINNING STREAK AT 17 AFTER VOLLEYBALL TAKES DOWN WEBER STATE

September 20, 2017
VOLLEYBALL OPENS BIG SKY PLAY THIS WEEK WITH TWO MATCHES

September 16, 2017
VOLLEYBALL CONCLUDES NEVADA TOURNAMENT WITH 3-2 NAIL BITING LOSS TO MISSOURI

September 15, 2017
VOLLEYBALL HAS WINNING STREAK SNAPPED IN LOSS TO PEPPERDINE

September 14, 2017
VOLLEYBALL TRAVELS TO RENO FOR THREE MATCHES, BEGINNING THURSDAY AT NEVADA

September 14, 2017
WINNING STREAK AT 6 STRAIGHT! VOLLEYBALL DOWNS NEVADA ON THE ROAD, 3-1

September 12, 2017
FIVE WINS IN A ROW! VOLLEYBALL DOWNS SAN FRANCISCO, 3-1

September 11, 2017
KURTZ AND MURDOCK SWEEP THE BIG SKY VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY AWARDS

September 9, 2017
VOLLEYBALL WINS 3RD STRAIGHT, BEATS NORTHERN KENTUCKY, 3-1

September 9, 2017
VOLLEYBALL BEATS SEATTLE, 3-1, COMPLETES PERFECT TOURNAMENT

September 8, 2017
ANOTHER COMEBACK WIN FOR VOLLEYBALL, THIS TIME OVER BOWLING GREEN, 3-2

September 5, 2017
VOLLEYBALL STORMS BACK, KNOCKS OFF UC DAVIS ON THE ROAD, 3-2

September 2, 2017
VOLLEYBALL FALLS TO 10TH-RANKED BYU

September 1, 2017
VOLLEYBALL OPENS BOISE TOURNAMENT WITH 3-1 LOSS TO MISSOURI

September 1, 2017
VOLLEYBALL DROPS HEARTBREAKING 3-2 ROAD DECISION AT BOISE STATE

August 31, 2017
VOLLEYBALL TRAVELS TO BOISE FOR THREE MATCHES IN TWO DAYS

August 30, 2017
VOLLEYBALL FALLS IN HOME OPENER TO PACIFIC, 3-1

August 28, 2017
LANA BROWN NAMED BIG SKY OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK


August 25, 2017
VOLLEYBALL OPENS SEASON WITH 3-2 VICTORY OVER UCONN


August 7, 2017
VOLLEYBALL SEASON ON THE HORIZON; PRACTICES BEGIN AUG. 8

June 10, 2017
VOLLEYBALL’S FINAL DAY IN CHINA; TWO MORE BLOGS

May 19, 2017
VOLLEYBALL RELEASES ITS 2017 SCHEDULE