Winners of eight straight and 17 of the last 19, the Sacramento State volleyball squad embarks upon arguably its most important week of the season. The Hornets, who are currently first in the Big Sky Conference standings with an 18-7 overall record and 8-1 conference mark, host the league’s third-place team (Eastern Washington: 16-6, 6-3) on Thursday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m., and second-place team (Portland State: 17-5, 7-2) on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m. With just five conference matches remaining on the schedule, a sweep this week would strengthen the Hornets’ chances of winning the Big Sky’s regular season title and the right to host the Big Sky Tournament (Nov. 17-19).

The winner of the Big Sky Tournament receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament (first and second rounds are slated for Dec. 1-4), a place the Hornets have been seven of the last eight years. Sacramento State is trying to win the league’s regular season championship for the first time since 2001. The Hornets have won the Big Sky Tournament each of the last three years in Cheney, Wash., to gain the league’s automatic berth.

Thursday''s match against Eastern Washington will be broadcast live at http://www.hornetsports.com/audio/ by scrolling down to the volleyball schedule and clicking on the match.

Sacramento State’s current eight-match winning streak is the team’s longest since the 2001 season, and one more victory would match the longest since the 1999 team won nine in a row. What makes the Hornets’ winning streak even more impressive is the team has swept six-straight opponents and seven of eight during the run. Currently ranked 27th by RichKern.com, the team is just two wins shy of its 11th-straight 20-win season, a mark the Hornets have reached 24 times in the last 26 years.

Sacramento State’s 8-1 conference mark matches the team’s best start since the 2001 squad was also 8-1 after nine matches. The Hornets, who have finished either first or second in the Big Sky standings every year since joining the conference in 1996, have not lost more than three league matches since the Big Sky switched from nine to eight teams in 2001.

Eastern Washington, which travels to Pacific on Tuesday night, enters the week with a 16-6 overall record and a 6-3 mark in the Big Sky. The Eagles have won nine of their last 11 matches, but one of those losses was at home to Sacramento State on Oct. 1 (30-27, 30-28, 30-22). The Eagles are 9-4 on the road this year, including victories over conference foes Idaho State, Montana State and Montana. Sacramento State owns an 18-8 all-time record against the Eagles (including an 11-2 record at home). Either Eastern Washington (2002-04) or Sacramento State (1997-2001) has won the Big Sky’s regular-season championship each of the last eight years.

Portland State (17-5, 7-2) will play at Northern Arizona on Thursday before Saturday’s showdown with Sacramento State. The Vikings have won seven straight, with the first victory in that stretch coming at home against the Hornets (33-31, 30-26, 25-30, 22-30, 17-15). After combining to win just one conference match in three years (1999-01), head coach Jeff Mozzochi has led a transformation that has seen the Vikings finish sixth (2002), sixth (2003) and fifth (2004) over the last three years. Sacramento State had won 23 straight over Portland State (dating back to the 1988 season) prior to the loss earlier this season. The Hornets are 28-11 all-time against Portland State, including 10-straight home wins over the Vikings.

A Winning Combination

In the NCAA Div. I rankings, Sacramento State is just one of two teams to rank among the nation’s top 22 in both blocks and digs. The new rankings, which come out every Tuesday, currently list Sacramento State fourth in the nation in digs and 22nd in blocks. The only other team to rank among the top 22 in both categories is Notre Dame. Sacramento State is currently averaging 19.14 digs and 3.04 blocks per game.

The Hornets, who rank among the nation’s leaders in digs nearly every season (including 14th last year), are ranked high in blocks for the first time in recent memory. Sacramento State leads the Big Sky Conference in both categories, and could lead the league in blocking for the first time since joining the conference in 1996.

Debby Colberg-coached teams are notoriously strong on defense, but this season’s team could be one of her top defensive squads. Junior libero Kristin Lutes is 27th in the nation and first in the Big Sky with 5.27 digs per game, and has at least 11 digs in every match this year. In fact, Lutes leads a list of seven Hornets who average more than 1.50 digs per game. In addition, Sacramento State’s defense has limited the opposition to hitting percentages of .190 or below in 13-consecutive matches. During the team’s current eight-match winning streak, the Hornets are averaging 21.04 digs per game.

Sophomore middle hitter Lindsay Haupt (29th in the nation with 1.45) leads a group of three Hornets with at least 1.20 blocks per game, including middle hitter Michelle Franz (1.24) and setter Natalie Melcher (1.22). Each of the three stands at 6-1, giving the Hornets a tall front line which also includes 6-1 outside hitter Atlee Hubbard (0.61 blocks per game) and 6-0 rightside hitter Shannon Arts (0.64 blocks per game).

Haupt Named Big Sky Player of the Week

Sophomore middle hitter Lindsay Haupt was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Monday after combining to record 4.00 kills and 1.50 blocks per game to go along with a .465 hitting percentage last week. The award marked the first in Haupt’s career and the third time a Sacramento State player has earned the honor this season (Michelle Franz received the award on Sept. 19 and Sept. 26).

In Sacramento State’s victory over Montana on Friday night, Haupt posted match highs in kills (12), hitting percentage (.579) and blocks (four). She was the only player in the contest with more than 10 kills and had just one error in 19 attacks. She returned one night later to record 12 kills, a .375 hitting percentage and a team-best five blocks in the Hornets’ 3-0 victory at Montana State.

Haupt continued a torrid pace that has seen the Etna, Calif., native hit better than .310 in eight-consecutive matches while posting a .438 hitting percentage during that span. She has hit at least .500 in four of those eight matches and the Hornets are 8-0 during that stretch.

Lutes Already in the Record Book

Despite being a junior, libero Kristin Lutes has carved her way into the Sacramento State program record books. The Big Sky’s Libero of the Year as a freshman, Lutes moved into 10th place in the Hornets’ career digs list last Saturday as the Kent, Wash., native now has 1,354 career digs. During her three-year career with Sacramento State, Lutes has combined for 4.64 digs per game and has raised that average each season (3.98 in 2003; 4.93 in 2004; 5.27 this year). Toughness = Roland

When junior Shannon Roland went down with a broken left (non-hitting) clavicle during practice on Sept. 12, the outside hitter was told by doctors it would take 6-8 weeks for her injury to heal. Less than six weeks later, Roland was on the floor last Friday night against Montana and Saturday against Montana State. The Auburn, Calif., native averaged 1.80 kills and 1.80 digs in the two matches last week. Prior to her injury, Roland was leading Sacramento State with an average of 3.39 kills per game through the first 10 matches of the season. She posted double figures in kills in nine of those 10 matches, and possesses the most powerful arm swing on the team. Roland’s return could not come at a better time as sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Ferguson sprained her ankle during the first game of Saturday’s Montana State match, and did not return. Ferguson’s availability for this week’s slate of games is questionable because of the injury.

Head Coach Debby Colberg

For the 30th-straight season, Debby Colberg will control the Sacramento State sidelines. During her tenure, Colberg has posted a 761-276 record (.734 winning percentage) and has led the team to 16 league titles and 24 postseason berths. Her 761 victories are fifth among active NCAA coaches with five-plus years of Div. I experience. Colberg was named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year for the fifth-consecutive season last year and a conference-record seven times in the last eight seasons (1997-98, 2000-04). During her tenure with the Hornets, she has been honored as coach of the year 14 times, including Region Coach of the Year on four occasions. The 1989 AVCA National Div. II Coach of the Year, Colberg led the Hornets to back-to-back national championships in 1980 (AIAW National Champs) and 1981 (NCAA Div. II National Champs). She also had the added responsibility of serving as Sacramento State’s athletic director from 1999 until 2002.

Hornet Notables

Sacramento State is 17-1 when winning the first game of a match, and 16-0 when hitting at least .200...the Hornets have tallied at least one service ace in 98-consecutive matches dating back to the 2002 season...the Hornets are 17-2 when Natalie Melcher starts at setter, and the senior has posted sparkling numbers over that span (12.31 apg, 2.44 dpg, 1.35 bpg, 0.71 kpg, .336 hitting percentage)...against Big Sky competition, junior Atlee Hubbard is posting a conference-best 4.65 kills per game...also against conference competition, the Hornets take up three of the top five hitting percentage marks (Lindsay Haupt third at .360, Shannon Arts fourth at .352 and Michelle Franz fifth at .309)...if the season were to end today, Franz’s current season hitting percentage of .348 would rank as the program’s fifth best single-season mark since 1987...Sacramento State has won nine-straight matches at home this season, and has won 44-consecutive regular season home matches against Big Sky competition dating back to the 1999 season.