Winners of 10 straight matches, 14 of the last 15, and 19 of the last 21, the Sacramento State volleyball squad (20-7, 10-1) is on the verge of its ninth-consecutive Big Sky Conference championship. The Hornets, who are currently in first place in the conference standings with three Big Sky matches remaining on the schedule, sit two games ahead of second-place Portland State (8-3) and three games ahead of third-place Eastern Washington (9-4). Sacramento State knocked off both teams last week at home to take a commanding lead in the standings. In fact, the Hornets, who own the tiebreaker over Portland State, need to win just one of their remaining three Big Sky matches to win the Big Sky’s regular-season title and the right to host the Big Sky Tournament (Nov. 17-19).

Sacramento State, which has won either the conference’s regular season and/or tournament championship each of the last eight years, owns five Big Sky regular season (1997-01) and six tournament (1997-98, 2000, 2002-04) titles since joining the league in 1996. The Hornets won each of the last three tournament championships on Eastern Washington’s home floor (Cheney, Wash.).

The Hornets’ current 10-match winning streak is the team’s longest since the 1998 squad won 15 in a row. During the winning streak, the Hornets have swept eight of the 10 opponents, and did not lose a match in the month of October. Sacramento State has also reached the 20-win plateau for the 11th-straight year.

Sacramento State’s remaining three conference matches include this week’s slate of road contests against Idaho State (9-15, 3-7) on Friday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. PST, and Weber State (10-14, 5-5) on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. PST. The Hornets defeated both teams earlier this season at home. Sacramento State’s 10-1 conference record is the team’s best after 11 matches since the 2001 squad was also 10-1. The record also ensures that Sacramento State can finish with no worse than four conference losses, a feat the Hornets have accomplished every year since joining the league. In fact, Sacramento State has never finished worse than second place in the standings.

Idaho State snapped a season-long six-match losing streak with its three-game sweep on the road of Weber State last Saturday. If the season ended today, Idaho State would finish sixth in the conference standings and own the last spot into the Big Sky Tournament. The tournament includes the top six teams in the eight-member league. The Bengals are 4-5 at home this season, including 2-3 against Big Sky opposition. Sacramento State, which lost to Idaho State in Pocatello last season, owns a commanding 18-2 record over the Bengals.

Weber State, which began the season with a 5-2 conference record, has lost each of its last three league matches to fall to 5-5 and tie Montana State for fourth place in the Big Sky standings. The Wildcats had been 4-0 at home this year against Big Sky opposition before getting swept by Idaho State on Saturday. Over the last five years, Weber State is 3-2 against the Hornets in Ogden, Utah, but has lost the last two meetings between the two teams on its home floor. Sacramento State is 17-5 all-time against Weber State, including five-straight victories.

A Winning Combination

In the NCAA Div. I rankings, Sacramento State is the only team in the nation to rank among the nation’s top 20 in both blocks and digs. The new rankings, which come out every Tuesday, currently list Sacramento State fourth in the nation in digs and 18th in blocks. Notre Dame was the only other team to rank among the top 20 in both categories, but fell to 21st in digs this week. Sacramento State is currently averaging 19.36 digs and 3.11 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 squad could be one of her top defensive teams. Junior libero Kristin Lutes is 24th in the nation and first in the Big Sky with 5.35 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 at least 1.40 digs per game. In addition, Sacramento State’s defense has limited the opposition to hitting percentages of .190 or below in 15-consecutive matches. During the team’s current 10-match winning streak, the Hornets are averaging 21.28 digs per game.

Sophomore middle hitter Lindsay Haupt (20th in the nation and second in the Big Sky with 1.53) 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 (1.24). Each of the three stands at 6-1, giving the Hornets a tall front line which also includes 6-1 outside hitter Atlee Hubbard (0.62 blocks per game) and 6-0 rightside hitter Shannon Arts (0.63 blocks per game).

Big Sky Conference Dominance

Sacramento State has been a model of consistency at the top of the Big Sky standings since joining the league in 1996, and this season is no different. Since 1996, Sacramento State has posted the best conference winning percentage of the league’s eight teams. The Hornets are 121-26 (.823), followed by Eastern Washington (112-35), Montana State (89-57) and Northern Arizona (79-75) as the schools with winning league records. Weber State (58-88), Idaho State (47-99), Montana (44-102), and Portland State (33-114) round out the rest of the field.

Head Coach Debby Colberg

For the 30th-straight season, Debby Colberg will control the Sacramento State sidelines. During her tenure, Colberg has posted a 763-276 record (.734 winning percentage) and has led the team to 16 league titles and 24 postseason berths. Her 763 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. She has led the Hornets to 11-consecutive 20-win seasons, and her teams have posted winning records in 28 of her 30 years at the helm. 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.

Happening Haupt

Nearly the entire Sacramento State roster has played well during the team’s current winning streak, but middle hitter Lindsay Haupt has really stood out. In fact, Haupt just earned her second-consecutive Big Sky Conference Player of the Week award after averaging 3.57 kills and 2.43 blocks per game to go along with a .449 hitting percentage. Despite being just a sophomore, Haupt has made a serious case for earning Big Sky first team all-conference honors this season as the Etna, Calif., native is currently ranked second in the league in blocks (1.53 per game) and fifth in hitting percentage (.313). Against Big Sky opposition, she has improved those numbers to 1.87 blocks per game (first in the Big Sky) and a .379 hitting percentage (second in the Big Sky).

During the Hornets’ winning streak, Haupt has been on fire, hitting better than .310 in each of the 10 victories while hitting .441 with 3.25 kills and 1.62 blocks per game over that span. She has at least 10 kills in all but two of those matches despite eight of the 10 victories coming in just three games. She has hit at least .500 in five of the 10 victories, and tallied a career-high 13 blocks this past Saturday against Portland State. The 13 blocks ties her for the third-most blocks in Sacramento State Div. I single-match history (1991-pres.). Haupt has already tallied 17 matches with double-figure kills this year after accomplishing the feat four times last season.

Hornet Notables

Sacramento State has posted at least one ace in 100-straight matches...the Hornets are 19-1 when winning the first game of a match, including each of the last 18 occasions...in matches against Big Sky opposition, the Hornets currently rank first in the league in blocks (3.45 per game), opponents hitting percentage (.123) and digs (20.71 per game), and second in hitting percentage (.237) and kills (16.63 per game)...senior outside hitter Atlee Hubbard, who leads the Big Sky with 4.58 kills per game against conference competition, paces the Hornets and ranks third in the Big Sky with 17 double-doubles (kills and digs)...junior Kristin Lutes, who moved into eighth place on the Sacramento State career leaders list with 1,399 digs, is on pace to move into fourth place by the end of the season...Sacramento State is 17-0 when hitting at least .200 in a match this season...the Hornets’ 21.0 team blocks Saturday against Portland State were the team’s highest output since the 1998 season, and tied for the sixth-best mark in Sacramento State Div. I history (1991-pres.)...during Sacramento State’s current 10-match winning streak, there are some large disparities between the Hornets and their opposition in several categories, including kills per game (16.81-13.09), hitting percentage (.250-.119), assists per game (15.06-12.47), digs per game (21.28-19.59) and blocks per game (3.16-2.38)...senior Mallory Hook has posted 16 matches with double figures in digs this season, and 58 times over her four-year career...over her last seven matches, sophomore middle hitter Michelle Franz is hitting .426 (57-11-108) to raise her team-best hitting percentage to .352 (third best in the Big Sky)...the Hornets are 19-2 since senior Natalie Melcher was moved from rightside hitter to the team’s starting setter.