The Hornets, who have just nine regular-season matches remaining on the schedule, hit the road this week for contests against non-conference opponent San Francisco (Tuesday, Oct. 21) and Big Sky-foe Northern Arizona (Saturday, Oct. 25). Sacramento State has reached the midway point of the conference season as the team has seven Big Sky matches left on the schedule. The top six teams in the Big Sky reach the conference tournament, scheduled for Nov. 20-22 at the regular-season champion''s home court. The Hornets have never finished below second place in the Big Sky since joining the conference in 1996.

At 6-1, Sacramento State has matched its best conference start after seven contests (the 1998, 2001 and 2002 squads also began the year 6-1). The Hornets stretched their winning streak against conference opponents in regular-season matches at home to 31 last week, and have not been taken to five games by a Big Sky opponent this season.

San Francisco, which is currently receiving votes in the AVCA/USA Today top 25 poll, will enter Tuesday''s match with a 17-4 overall record. The Dons won their first 15 matches of the season and cracked the top 20, but have since lost four of their last six after entering conference play. The Hornets have won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two teams (including a 3-0 victory in Sacramento last season) and hold an 18-3 all-time series advantage over the Dons.

Northern Arizona, which travels to UNLV on Monday (Oct. 20), enters the week with a 9-10 overall record and a 3-4 Big Sky mark. The Lumberjacks are currently fifth in the Big Sky standings after losing at home to Idaho State (3-2) and beating Weber State (3-0) last week. The team is 6-5 at home, but has lost six of its last nine matches overall. The Hornets defeated the Lumberjacks earlier this season in Sacramento (3-0) and have won each of the last five meetings between the two teams. Sacramento State is 17-5 all-time against NAU.

A Look At Last Week''s Action

Sacramento State posted its two most convincing wins of the season, defeating both Weber State (30-19, 30-17, 30-24) and Idaho State (30-15, 30-25, 30-18) at home. Idaho State scored just 58 points during the entire match and Weber State scored only 60 points, marking the two lowest outputs by a Hornet opponent this season. The team is now 5-0 against conference competition at the Hornets Nest this season and has lost just one game over that span.

The Hornets combined to hit .385 over the two matches, including a .424 mark against Idaho State, the fifth-best hitting percentage in school history. Against the Bengals, Sacramento State had 49 kills with just seven errors in 99 total attacks. It marked just the second time all season the team had committed less than 10 attack errors in a match (nine vs. UNLV). In addition, the Hornets averaged exactly five more kills per game (17.83-12.83) than their opponents.

Head Coach Debby Colberg

For the 28th-straight season, Debby Colberg will control the Hornet sidelines. During her tenure, Colberg has posted a 710-257 record (.734 winning percentage) and has led the team to 14 league titles and 22 postseason berths. Her 710 wins rank seventh on the all-time NCAA list (two wins behind UC Santa Barbara''s Kathy Gregory) among active 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 fifth time in six seasons (1997-98, 2000-02). During her tenure, she has been honored as coach of the year 12 times, including Region Coach of the Year on four occasions. She has led the Hornets to the NCAA Tournament five of the last six years (1997-00, 2002) and has posted 23 career 20-win seasons.

Colberg came to Sacramento State in 1976 and finished 9-8 in her first season. The long coaching sojourn has taken Colberg through the ranks, from AIAW play in the late 1970s, through Division II and now Division I. In 27 years, she has coached just two losing squads and her teams have averaged 25.7 wins per season. The 1989 American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II Coach of the Year and the coach with the best winning percentage in any sport at Sacramento State, 2003 marks Colberg’s 13th season as a Division I coach. During that time, she has led Sacramento State to winning seasons in 11 of those 12 Division I years.

She also had the added responsibility of serving as Sacramento State’s athletics director from February of 1999 until May of 2002.

Dominating Defense

Head coach Debby Colberg has always stressed good defense and passing as Sacramento State has finished no lower than second in the Big Sky Conference in digs since joining the conference in 1996. This year is no different as the Hornets'' average of 18.11 digs per game is easily the best mark in the Big Sky, 1.4 digs per game better than second-place Montana State (16.71 per game). The Hornets are currently 19th in the nation in digs per game and are also currently averaging a conference-best 19.39 digs per game against conference opposition.

Freshman libero Kristin Lutes currently leads the Big Sky with 4.02 digs per game while senior Lisa Beauchene ranks seventh with 3.17 per game. Lutes, who starred at powerful Kentlake High School in Kent, Wash., is also averaging a conference-best 4.35 digs per game against Big Sky opposition. Sacramento State currently has five players averaging more than 2.0 digs per game comprising Lutes, Beauchene, freshman Jennifer Ferguson (3.13), junior Sandra Bandimere (2.46) and sophomore Mallory Hook (2.24).

Sacramento State has allowed just one opponents to hit better than .300 (Eastern Washington, .333) this season, and only four opponents have hit above .250. Opponents have combined to hit .185 this season while four teams have failed to hit .100 (Eastern Illinois, Kentucky, Montana State and Montana).

Band Leader

Although junior outside hitter Sandra Bandimere has failed to record double figures in kills in each of her last three matches (her longest stretch of the season), she still leads the team and ranks fifth in the Big Sky with 3.61 kills per game. The Roseville, Calif., native has led the team in kills in 15 of the last 21 matches, including a season-high 21 at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

In addition, Bandimere has tallied double figures in kills in all but seven matches this season, and has at least 18 kills on seven occasions. Her number of kills has a direct reflection on the Hornets'' success as the team is 12-4 when she has at least 10 kills, and 3-4 when she has nine kills or less. Bandimere, who was named to the Big Sky all-tournament team in 2002, has seen her number of kills go up each year from 1.14 as a freshman, 3.42 as a sophomore and 3.61 this season.

Bandimere has fallen one kill short of double figures four times this season, with her season low (six) coming Saturday vs. Idaho State.

Beauchene Named Big Sky POW For The Third Time This Year

Senior setter Lisa Beauchene was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week for the third time this season – and seventh time of her career – after combining to hit .577 while posting per game averages of 3.00 kills, 11.83 assists, 3.83 digs and 0.83 blocks.

Despite the match lasting just three games, she tallied her seventh triple-double of the season against Weber State, posting 10 kills, 40 assists and 13 digs. Against Idaho State, she had eight kills, 31 assists, 10 digs and four blocks. For the week, the Auburn, Wash., native had just three errors in 26 total attacks. She hit .692 (10-1-13) against Weber State and followed up that effort with a .462 hitting percentage (8-2-13) vs. Idaho State.

Beauchene, who has hit at least .345 in six-consecutive matches, has raised her season hitting percentage to .370. Among team leaders, she currently ranks first in hitting percentage, assists (10.72 per game) and aces (0.29), and second in digs (3.17) and blocks (0.88).

A Hornet player has now received Big Sky Conference player of the week honors a school-record five times this season, surpassing the previous mark of four, set in 1999 and 2001. Besides Beauchene (Sept. 8, Sept. 15 and Oct. 20), junior Emily Wilson (Sept. 22) and senior Kazmiera Imrie (Oct. 6) also received the award this season.

First Game Is The Charm

So far this season, the first game of a Sacramento State match has dictated which team will win the contest. When winning the first game, the Hornets are 14-0, and when losing the first game, the team is 1-8. The Hornets'' only victory when dropping the first game occurred in a 3-1 win over Kentucky. In fact, after taking the first game of match this season, the Hornets have won either 3-0 or 3-1 in every such contest.

Exquisite Arts

Sophomore middle hitter Shannon Arts had arguably the best week of her career last week as the Valdez, Alaska, native combined to hit .500 (15-2-26) while posting per game averages of 2.50 kills, 0.33 aces and 1.00 blocks per game. Against Weber State, Arts tallied a career-high tying 10 kills and a career-high .529 hitting percentage, committing just one error in 17 total attacks. She followed up that effort against Idaho State with five kills, a .444 hitting percentage (5-1-9) and a season-high five blocks. More importantly, Arts and setter Lisa Beauchene appeared to be on the same page after both struggled with their timing throughout the first seven weeks of the season.

Brief Notables

Freshman Jennifer Ferguson tallied 13 kills and a career-high .500 hitting percentage (13-0-26) against Idaho State. Ferguson, who is third on the team with six double-doubles this season, had not hit above .300 in any match this season until her performance against the Bengals...the Hornets are 7-3 when junior Emily Wilson has at least six blocks and 8-2 when she hits at least .400...the Hornets'' 58 kills against Weber State was the team''s highest output in a three-game match this season...five of Sacramento State''s last seven opponents have failed to hit above .150...freshman Kristin Lutes'' seven digs against Idaho State marked just the third time this season the libero has failed to record at least 10 digs...freshman Shannon Roland is hitting .571 (5-1-7) over her last two matches...Lisa Beauchene, Emily Wilson and Sandra Bandimere are the only Hornets to start all 23 matches this season...every player but Roland has started a match.