Kazmiera Imrie/Alison Gahr

The Hornets currently sit all alone atop the conference standings, one game ahead of Eastern Washington. A victory over EWU on Friday would assure the Hornets first place in the conference and the right to host the Big Sky Tournament for the fifth-straight year. The winner of the Big Sky Tournament receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which the Hornets have advanced to each of the last four years.

Should the Hornets lose to Eastern Washington on Friday and beat Portland State on Saturday, the team could still wind up conference champions via a tiebreaker. The Hornets beat the Eagles in Cheney, Wash., earlier this season, 3-0 (30-23, 30-23, 30-24). In order for EWU to gain the tiebreaker, the Eagles would have to defeat Sacramento State, 3-0, and hold the Hornets to 70 points or less (the amount the Eagles scored in the teams’ previous match). Also, should the Hornets lose to EWU, 3-1 or 3-2, and beat Portland State on Saturday, Sacramento State would win the conference championship because it won a higher percentage of total games between the two teams. Listed below is the order of tiebreakers for the conference championship:

1. Results of head-to-head competition between teams.

2. Percentage of total games won in matches between the two teams.

3. Scoring margin of games between the two teams.

4. Results of competition against the remaining conference teams in ascending order (1,2,3,4,etc.)

A Look at The Opponents

Eastern Washington will enter Friday’s match with a 17-3 overall mark and a 9-3 record in the Big Sky. The second-place Eagles, who have won six in a row, travel to Sacramento State on Friday and Northern Arizona on Saturday. EWU swept both Idaho State and Weber State last week and have dropped only three games during their six-match winning streak. The team’s only loss in its last nine matches came against the Hornets on Oct. 13. Sacramento State has won each of the last six meetings against the Eagles in Hornet Gym, including a 3-0 victory in last year’s Big Sky Tournament championship match.

Portland State (4-14, 1-11 Big Sky) enters the week having lost each of its last 12 matches. The Vikings haven’t won since defeating Montana at home on Sept. 22. Portland State, which plays at NAU on Friday, took Weber State to five games last week before losing. Sacramento State has won each of the last 16 meetings between the two teams (including a 3-0 SAC win on Oct. 12) and owns a 21-10 all-time record.

Conference Winning Streak is Snapped

With last week’s 3-1 loss at Montana State, Sacramento State saw its nine-match Big Sky winning streak come to a close. The team had also won 27-consecutive games over that span. The Hornets went the entire month of October without losing a conference match and defeated both Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona on the road. Also during that span, Sacramento State won three-consecutive Big Sky Player of the Week awards comprising Lisa Beauchene (Oct. 8), Tasman Dwyer (Oct. 15) and Jayme Wright (Oct. 22).

The Hornets had a season-high eight-match winning streak snapped by 16th-ranked BYU on Oct. 25. The Hornets have lost three times over the last five matches, but two of those losses have come agasint ranked opposition (3-1 loss at home to BYU and a 3-0 loss at third-ranked Stanford).

Head Coach Debby Colberg

For the 26th-straight season, Debby Colberg will control the Hornet sidelines. During her tenure, Colberg has posted a 668-237 record (.738 winning percentage) and has led the team to 12 league titles and 20 postseason berths. Her 668 wins rank eighth on the all-time NCAA list among coaches with at least five years of Div. I experience. Last season, Colberg was named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year for the third time in the last four years. During her tenure, she has been honored as league coach of the year six times, regional coach of the year four times and national coach of the year once.

Colberg came to Sacramento State in 1976 and finished 9-8 in her first season. She captured her first league title in 1978 when the team posted a 12-2 mark in the Golden State Conference. Colberg guided the Hornets to the Div. II national championship in 1981, including two third-place finishes (1983-84) and a second-place finish in 1989. She has coached just two losing squads and her teams have averaged 26.0 wins per year.

The Hornets have posted a 248-83 (.749) record since moving to Div. I in 1991. In addition to leading the Hornets to four-consecutive NCAA Div. I Tournament appearances, she has also had the added responsibility of serving as the school’s athletic director since February of 1999.

A Look At Last Week’s Action

Sacramento State went 1-2 last week (all road matches) including losses to third-ranked Stanford (3-0; 30-21, 30-22, 38-36) and Montana State (3-1; 30-19, 16-30, 30-25, 30-27). The Hornets’ only victory last week came at Montana (3-0; 30-27, 30-20, 30-18).

Tuesday, Ogonna Nnamani led all players with 20 kills to pace Stanford to the victory. Game three’s combined total of 74 points was the longest game of the season for both teams. Sacramento State saved seven game points and Stanford saved two as consecutive Nnamani kills finally ended the 45-minute game and the match. Kazmiera Imrie led the team with nine kills as no Hornet recorded double figures. Jayme Wright (eight kills, team-leading 12 digs) and Tasman Dwyer (eight kills, .313 hitting percentage) also chipped in.

Friday, three Hornets cracked double figures comprising Dwyer (15), Wright (10) and Imrie (10) as the Hornets defeated Montana for the fifth-consecutive time. After pulling away late to squeak out game one (30-27), Sacramento State committed just five errors for the remainder of the match, including one in game three. Wright (match-high 16 digs), Imrie (13), Kelly Voeltz (11) and Olivia Thomas (10) each finished with double figures in digs.

Saturday, Falin Schaefer recorded 23 kills, 15 digs and nine blocks, and Anne Watts added 15 kills and 13 digs to lead Montana State to victory. The loss snapped the Hornets’ nine-match conference winning streak. The Grizzlies badly outhit (.286-.135) and outblocked (18.5-10.5) Sacramento State. The Hornets were led by Wright (17 kills, 10 digs) and sophomore Lisa Beauchene, who missed a triple-double by one kill (nine kills, 46 assists and a team-high 15 digs).

Home Cooking

Since Sacramento State joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996, the Hornets have recorded a 46-6 record at Hornet Gym against conference competition. The team went a perfect 10-0 last season and has a 32-2 combined record at home against Big Sky opposition over the last three years (the team’s two losses came to Montana and Cal State Northridge in 1999). The Hornets have won each of their last 15 Big Sky matches at home. Against all competition (including non-conference opponents) over the last five years, the team has combined to go 66-14 in Hornet Gym.

The team is 5-0 against conference competition and 7-1 overall in Hornet Gym this season. The team has completed three-game sweeps in five of its eight home matches and has swept each of its last four Big Sky opponents (Montana State, Montana, Weber State and Idaho State).

Kaz-ma-Taz

Sophomore Kazmiera Imrie and senior Tasman Dwyer have become one of the more formidable middle hitter combinations in the Big Sky. The duo has combined for 5.74 kills and 2.30 blocks per game. Dwyer has either led or tied for the team lead in kills in 12 matches and blocks 13 times. Imrie has led or tied for the team lead in kills four times and blocks on 13 occasions. In fact, either Dwyer or Imrie has paced the team in blocks in all but two matches this season.

For the season, Dwyer is first on the team in kills (3.38 per game), and second in hitting percentage (.331) and blocks (1.12 per game). Imrie, who has become a full-rotation player this season, is first on the team in blocks (1.18 per game), third in kills (2.36 per game), fourth in hitting percentage (.230) and sixth in digs (1.94 per game). Imrie is sixth in the conference in blocks while Dwyer is second in hitting percentage, seventh in blocks and eighth in kills.

Conference Dominance

Since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996, Sacramento State has finished at least second in the conference standings every season. After finishing second in 1996 behind Cal State Northridge, Sacramento State has at least tied for a share of the regular season title every year thereafter. In fact, the team has yet to finish with a record worse than 12-4.

Since 1996, the Hornets have easily posted the best conference winning percentage of the league’s eight teams as well. The Hornets are 75-17 (.815), followed by Eastern Washington (67-25) with the second best winning percentage. Northern Arizona (57-35) and Montana State (56-37) are the other schools with winning league records. Weber State (38-55), Montana (35-58), Idaho State (24-69) and Portland State (13-79) round out the field.

The Wright Stuff

Junior outside hitter Jayme Wright has led the Hornets in digs in eight of the last 11 matches and currently paces the team and is second in the Big Sky Conference with 3.43 digs per game. The Pleasanton, Calif., native has also led the team in kills five times during the last 11 contests and has averaged 3.69 kills and 3.83 digs per game over that span.

Wright, who was named Big Sky Player of the Week on Oct. 22, leads the Hornets with 12 double-doubles (kills and digs) and has paced the team in kills eight times and digs 10 times during the season. Among team leaders, she is first on the team in total attempts (798), second in kills (3.09 per game) and third in assists (0.70 per game). In addition, she is one of four players to start every match and has played in all but one game.

Can You Dig It

Sacramento State is currently second overall in the Big Sky in digs (16.42 per game) and first in conference matches (16.60 per game). The Hornets, who finished second in the Big Sky and eighth in the nation in digs last season (19.74 per game), are 13-1 when outdigging their opponents this season. Six Hornets currently average at least 1.94 digs per game or better, led by Jayme Wright (3.39 per game, second in the Big Sky) and Lisa Beauchene (3.19 per game, fifth in the Big Sky).

Beau Knows Volleyball

Sophomore Lisa Beauchene continues to put up solid all-around numbers for a setter. The Auburn, Wash., native has recorded per game averages of 1.98 kills, 11.26 assists, 3.19 digs and 0.66 blocks to go along with a .354 hitting percentage. Beauchene currently has three triple-doubles this season and has narrowly missed six others, including last week’s performance against Montana State (nine kills, 46 assists, 15 digs). Her .354 hitting percentage would rank as the top mark in the Big Sky if she had enough kills to qualify. Among other Big Sky categories, she ranks second in assists and fifth in digs.

Additional Notes

Seniors Tasman Dwyer, Alison Gahr and Kelly Voeltz will be honored prior to Friday’s match for their contributions to the program...the Hornets’ .135 hitting percentage against Montana State was the team’s third-worst output of the season...among conference leaders, Sacramento State ranks first in assists (14.07 per game) and second in kills (15.59 per game), digs (16.42 per game) and service aces (1.66 per game)...Voeltz has recorded double figures in digs on 11 occasions.