With last week''s sweep of Eastern Washington, Sacramento State is currently one game behind the Eagles (11-1) in the Big Sky standings. Eastern Washington, however, still owns the tiebreaker over the Hornets. In order for Sacramento State to win the regular-season title and earn the right to host the Big Sky Tournament, the Hornets have to win both of their conference matches this week while Eastern Washington has to lose twice. The Eagles host Montana State (Nov. 13) and Montana (Nov. 15), teams they have already beaten earlier in the season.

With one conference win this week, Sacramento State will clinch at least second place in the Big Sky standings and a first-round bye in the conference tournament. The Hornets are currently two games ahead of third-place Idaho State (8-4). Even if Sacramento State lost both of its matches and Idaho State wins twice this week, the Hornets could still wind up with the tiebreaker and second place by virtue of its 3-0 sweep (30-15, 30-25, 30-18) over the Bengals earlier this season. Since joining the Big Sky in 1996, Sacramento State has finished at least second in the conference standings every season. In addition, the Hornets have reached the Big Sky Tournament championship match every year except 1999 (semifinal loss to Cal State Northridge).

Sacramento State has won each of its last four matches and has dropped just one game over that span. The Hornets will finish the season with a 10-3 record at home and a 7-0 mark against Big Sky opponents. The team has now won 33-consecutive regular-season matches against conference competition inside the Hornets Nest and is 100-20 overall at home since 1995.

Pacific enters Tuesday''s match with a 14-9 overall record and a 9-3 mark at home. The Tigers have won three of their last four, including sweeps of UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton last week. Pacific has dominated the Hornets in the all-time series as the Tigers have won 24 of the 26 meetings between the two teams. Pacific has won each of the last 10 meetings with Sacramento State and hasn''t lost since 1997 (3-0 Hornet victory in Sacramento). The Tigers have never lost to the Hornets at home (12-0).

Weber State will enter Friday night''s match with a 7-17 overall record and a 3-9 Big Sky mark. The Wildcats, Montana (2-10) and Portland State (2-10) are battling for the sixth and final spot into the Big Sky Tournament. Weber State has lost eight of its last 10 matches and has not beaten a conference opponent since knocking off Montana at home on Oct. 24. Sacramento State has struggled in Ogden, Utah, as the team has not won at Weber State since the 1999 season, the longest drought against a Big Sky team on the road. The Hornets own a 13-5 advantage in the all-time series, including a 3-0 victory earlier this season in Sacramento.

Idaho State, which hosts Northern Arizona on Friday, enters the week with an 18-7 overall record and an 8-4 mark in the Big Sky. The Bengals are the league''s most surprising team this season as Idaho State had not finished anything better than sixth place in the conference standings each of the last seven years. ISU is currently in third place and leads the conference in both kills (15.77 per game) and assists (14.33 per game). The Hornets swept Idaho State earlier this season and have won each of the last 13 meetings between the two teams. Sacramento State is 14-1 all-time against the Bengals.

A Look At Last Week''s Action

Sacramento State looked impressive last week, defeating both Portland State (30-15, 32-34, 30-25, 30-22) and Eastern Washington (30-19, 30-26, 30-25) at home. The Hornets dealt Eastern Washington its first conference loss of the season and avenged their loss earlier this year in Cheney, Wash. Sacramento State has now won each of its last four Big Sky matches and has dropped just one game over that span.

Head Coach Debby Colberg

For the 28th-straight season, Debby Colberg will control the Hornet sidelines. During her tenure, Colberg has posted a 714-259 record (.734 winning percentage) and has led the team to 14 league titles and 22 postseason berths. Her 714 wins rank seventh on the all-time NCAA list (three 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 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.

20 Wins On The Horizon?

Sacramento State is currently one win shy of No. 20 this season. That would extend the Hornets'' streak of 20-win seasons to nine as the team''s last sub-20 win year came in 1994 (18-12). Since 1979, the Hornets have recorded at least 20 wins in all but two seasons (the team was 13-19 in its first year of Div. I play in 1991). In addition, the Hornets have yet to lose more than four conference matches in a season since joining the Big Sky. Sacramento State has combined to post a 98-22 record (.817 winning percentage) against conference competition in the regular season.

Beauchene Makes Her Mark On The Record Books

Sacramento State senior setter Lisa Beauchene was named Big Sky Player of the Week for the fourth time this season on Nov. 3, setting a Hornet program record in the process. The Auburn, Wash., native, who also earned the award on Sept. 8, Sept. 15 and Oct. 20, is now hitting .346 this season with averages of 2.15 kills, 10.91 assists, 3.05 digs and 0.92 blocks per game.

Beauchene’s four conference player of the week awards leaves her one shy of the Big Sky season record of five, set in 1998 by Eastern Washington’s Kim Exner. She has now received the award eight times during her career (twice in both 2001 and 2002) and is a two-time unanimous first team all-Big Sky selection. Among conference leaders, she is currently third in both hitting percentage and assists, tied for seventh in service aces (0.30 per game) and eighth in blocks.

She is just eight blocks shy of becoming the first player in Sacramento State history to rank among the school’s top 10 career list in kills, digs, assists, hitting percentage, service aces and blocks. She is currently first all-time in hitting percentage (.351), third in assists (4,907), eighth in aces (107), tied for eighth in digs (1,348), 10th in kills (859) and 11th in blocks (316).

November Heat

If the last eight years are any indication for things to come, Sacramento State should continue to enjoy a successful month of November. Over the last eight-plus seasons, the Hornets have combined for a 55-14 record in the month of November. This year, they are already 3-0 this month, including victories over Montana, Portland State and Eastern Washington. During the last eight years, the team has lost more than two matches just once (5-4 in 1996) in the month. Last season, Sacramento State posted a 7-2 November record, including three sweeps.

Imrie Receives the Hornets'' Seventh Big Sky POW Award

Sacramento State senior middle hitter Kazmiera Imrie shared Big Sky Conference co-Player of the Week honors with Montana''s Lizzie Wertz this past week. A Sacramento State player has now been awarded Big Sky player of the week honors a program- and conference-record seven times this season (Imrie – Oct. 6, Nov. 10; senior setter Lisa Beauchene – Sept. 8, Sept. 15, Oct. 20, Nov. 3; junior middle hitter Emily Wilson – Sept. 22). The previous conference record was six, set by both Montana and Idaho in 1994.

In two matches last week, Imrie combined for 4.00 kills, 1.43 blocks and 1.00 digs per game to go along with a team-best .439 hitting percentage. The Fairfield, Calif., native, who combined to commit just three errors in two matches, totalled 28 kills in 57 attacks. Against Portland State, the team co-captain tallied 15 kills, a .483 hitting percentage five digs and a match- and season-high eight blocks. She followed up that effort against Eastern Washington with 13 kills, a .393 hitting percentage, two digs and two blocks.

Imrie has hit at least .390 in six of her last eight matches, raising her hitting percentage to a season-high .323. In addition, Imrie has tallied double figures in kills 21 times this year and is second on the Hornets in hitting percentage and kills (3.15 per game). Among Big Sky leaders, she is fifth in hitting percentage and ninth in kills.

Brief Notables

Sophomore middle hitter Shannon Arts is averaging 1.6 blocks per game over the last seven matches and cracked the Big Sky''s top 10 in blocks for the first time this season. She is currently 10th with 0.86 per game...junior middle hitter Emily Wilson hit a season-high .600 against Portland State and has now hit at least .400 on nine occasions this year. That ranks her second on the team behind Lisa Beauchene''s 14 matches with at least a .400 hitting percentage...Sacramento State held Portland State and Eastern Washington to hitting percentages of .137 and .151, respectively, last week, and is now 16-0 when holding an opponent to a hitting mark below .200...freshman libero Kristin Lutes is averaging 5.08 digs per game over her last four matches and is now averaging a Big Sky-best 4.34 digs per game against conference competition...freshman outside hitter Shannon Roland played two games against Eastern Washington and responded with three kills and a .375 hitting percentage (3-0-8)...freshman outside hitter Jennifer Ferguson added her 17th double-digit digs match of the season – third most on the team – with 10 against Eastern Washington.