Full set of game notes (8 pages) - pdf
Big Sky Conference standings

The Week Ahead

• Sacramento State begins a season-high tying four-game homestand this week when the Hornets host Idaho State on Thursday and Weber State on Saturday. Both matchups will begin at 7 p.m.
• Idaho State (11-8, 5-1) and Weber State (10-5, 5-1) are currently tied for first place in the Big Sky Conference standings, making this week a big one for a Sacramento State squad (9-11, 4-2) that sits just a game out of first place. All three teams still have 12 conference matches to play.
• Saturday is Kids Day at the Nest, as all kids 12-under will receive free admission to the match. In addition, free foam fingers and autograph posters will be available. Sacramento State players will be signing autographs on the posters at the conclusion of the match.
• Sacramento State split its two matches on the road last week, falling in four sets at Idaho before sweeping Eastern Washington. The Hornets have now won four of their last five matches.
• Sacramento State's overall record of 9-11 would probably be better if the team hadn't dealt with injuries to both setters (McKenna Smith, Ashtin Olin) and the libero (Paige Swinney). All three players have missed matches this season, and Smith is out for the year.
• The defending Big Sky regular season champs, Sacramento State is currently 2-0 at home in league play. The Hornets have won 26 consecutive regular season matches at home against Big Sky opposition, a streak which dates back to the beginning of the 2015 season.
• The last regular season loss at home to a conference opponent came during the 2014 season finale to Southern Utah, 3-2, on Nov. 15, 2014.
• As a program, Sacramento State currently has 1,002 victories, and is 1,002-459 all-time.

This Week's Multimedia Options

• Every match the rest of the season will be aired live and free via watchbigsky.com and Pluto TV.
• In addition, live stats will be offered for every match the rest of the year.
• Multimedia options (video, live stats) for all Sacramento State matches can be accessed to the right of each match on the volleyball schedule at www.hornetsports.com.

vs. This Week's Opponents

• Idaho State (11-8, 5-1), picked to finish seventh in the Big Sky preseason poll, has won six of its last seven matches, including a three-set sweep of Northern Colorado on Saturday.
• The Hornets are 32-13 all-time against the Bengals, including five straight wins in the series. The last Hornet loss to the Bengals came in four sets in Pocatello on Oct. 1, 2015.
• The Hornets are 17-5 when playing Idaho State at home, but the two teams have split the last 10 meetings inside the Nest.
• Weber State (10-5, 5-1), selected fifth in the Big Sky preseason poll, has won four straight and its only conference loss came on the road at Northern Arizona in four sets on Sept. 22.
• The Hornets are 37-10 all-time against the Wildcats, including six consecutive wins in the series. The last Weber victory came in Ogden in five sets on Nov. 6, 2014.
• Sacramento State is 20-3 at home against Weber State, including three straight wins in the Nest.

Hornet Notables

• One of the top serving teams in the nation, Sacramento State is easily first in the Big Sky and 12th in the nation with 1.76 aces per set. The Hornets have three players ranking among the conference's top five players in aces per set, including Skyler Takeda (1st, 0.51), Ashtin Olin (4th, 0.36) and Mikaela Nocetti (5th, 0.35). Takeda's 0.51 average is also the 15th best mark in the country.
• When Sacramento State swept Eastern Washington on Saturday, it marked just the fifth time the Hornets had won a first set as the team is 5-15 in the first. However, the Hornets are 14-6 in the second set, and have yet to drop the second frame against any Big Sky opponent (6-0).
• The Hornets have posted double figures in team blocks on 11 occasions, and now rank 33rd in the nation with 2.55 blocks per set. Middle blocker Lana Brown's 96 total blocks are the ninth most in the nation and Brie Gathright's 82 blocks are the 34th best mark.
• Outside hitter Mikaela Nocetti, who currently has 1,063 kills despite playing less than three years in a Sacramento State uniform, is now approaching the 1,000 kills, 1,000 digs club. She currently has 840 digs, and needs just 160 more to become the 13th Hornet since 1985 to achieve the milestone. Nocetti has posted double figures in kills in all but three matches this year (20+ kills five times) and also has nine double-doubles. Nocetti's 294 kills this year are the 23rd best mark in the nation.
• Middle blocker Brie Gathright has hit better than .360 in three straight matches, and over that stretch, is hitting .390 with averages of 1.67 kills and 0.84 blocks per set. She is 12 kills shy of reaching 500 for her career. She has started a team-best 83 straight matches dating back to 2016.
• Sarah Davis, who has played on the left side, right side and at setter this year, has 79 kills in six conference matches playing on the left side. Her average of 3.16 kills per set in league play is the ninth best mark in the Big Sky. She had posted at least 11 kills during each of the first five Big Sky matches until that streak ended when Davis posted eight in Saturday's sweep of Eastern Washington.
• Middle blocker Lana Brown has hit better than .450 in four of the last five matches, and has raised her hitting percentage in conference play to .356, the fourth best mark in the Big Sky. Last week, the fifth-year senior recorded her 500th career kill, and now has 505 kills and an impressive .313 hitting percentage over her career.
• Setter Ashtin Olin remains fourth in the Big Sky in assists (9.91 per set) and aces (0.36 per set). Named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 1, Olin has set a Sacramento State offense that is hitting .233 in league play, the third best mark in the conference. Olin had posted better than 40 assists in eight straight matches until tallying 31 in the three-set sweep of Eastern Washington.
• Skyler Takeda's average of 0.51 aces per set is not only the 15th best mark in the nation, but is easily the top mark in the Big Sky. Takeda, who also averages 2.46 digs per set, has 40 aces which includes at least one in six straight, and 16 matches overall this year.
• Only three players have started all 20 matches this season - middle blockers Brie Gathright and Lana Brown, and outside hitter Mikaela Nocetti. Sarah Davis has started 18 times.
• Sacramento State has hit better than .210 in five of the last six matches after doing so six times in the first 14 matches of the year.
• The Hornets' 13 aces at Eastern Washington were just two shy of the program record for most in a three-set match, trailing 15 the team put up against Manhattan in 2007.
• Sacramento State will play four straight, and six of next eight matches, at home.