The Sacramento State volleyball squad will compete in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in nine years when it takes on 15th-ranked Santa Clara in the first round on Friday, Dec. 2, at 5 p.m. at Maples Pavilion (Stanford, Calif.). The Hornets received an automatic berth into the tournament after winning the Big Sky Tournament for the fourth-consecutive season with victories over Montana State (semifinals) and Eastern Washington (championship match). The Hornets, who have won either the Big Sky’s regular season and/or tournament championship nine-straight years, have defeated Eastern Washington four-consecutive years and six times in the last eight years in the Big Sky Tournament championship match. Since joining the Big Sky in 1996, the Hornets have won six league regular-season championships (1997-01, 2005) and seven Big Sky Tournament titles (1997-98, 2000, 2002-05).

Sacramento State enters the 64-team tournament with a 26-8 overall record, the team’s most victories since the 1998 squad finished 26-9. The Hornets just had their Div. I (1991-pres.) high tying 16-match winning streak snapped by 20th-ranked Ohio in the Bankers Classic championship match on Saturday, Nov. 26. After beginning the season with a 1-5 record, including the team’s longest losing streak since 1991 (five-straight losses), the Hornets have responded in impressive fashion by winning 25 of their last 28 matches. That includes victories over NCAA Tournament participants Loyola Marymount (3-1) and Nevada (3-1).

Sacramento State’s match against Santa Clara will mark the second time the two teams have met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, with the Broncos coming out on top in 2000 in San Jose, Calif., by the score of 3-0. Friday’s match will be broadcast live on Sacramento State’s website (www.hornetsports.com) with Brian Berger calling all the action. To access the broadcast, click on the “Live Audio” link and scroll down to the volleyball schedule.

Host and fifth-ranked Stanford will take on Nevada in the other match on Friday at 7 p.m., with the winner taking on the Sacramento State/Santa Clara winner on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. All matches will take place at Maples Pavilion on the Stanford campus.

The Hornets have not left the Bay Area for the first round of the NCAA Tournament since 1999 when the team played in Los Angeles. Since that time, Sacramento State has played its first-round matches in San Jose (2000), Stanford (2002-03, 2005) and Berkeley (2004). Consequently, the team has not won a first-round NCAA Tournament match since the 1998 season when the Hornets knocked off Houston (3-0) in the first round in Stockton, Calif. Sacramento State, which won an AIAW National Championship in 1980 and an NCAA Div. II National Championship in 1981, has compiled a 1-7 all-time record in NCAA Div. I Tournament play. The Hornets made the move to the Div. I ranks in 1991.

A Look at the Tournament Field

Santa Clara, which won this year’s West Coast Conference title and features conference player of the year Cassie Perret, will enter the tournament with a 23-4 record and a No. 15 ranking in the CSTV/AVCA top 25 poll. The Broncos, however, did not receive one of the tournament’s top 16 seeds (the NCAA only seeds 16 teams in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament, the remaining teams in the field do not receive a seeding). Santa Clara began the season by winning 22 of its first 23 matches, including a 3-0 victory over the Hornets in Sacramento on Aug. 30. The 3-0 victory over the Hornets marked the only home loss of the season for Sacramento State.

Since Santa Clara opened the year with a 22-1 record, the team has struggled over the last two weeks. In fact, the Broncos have lost three of their last four matches, including consecutive defeats at the hands of No. 18 San Diego (3-2), No. 12 Cal (3-2) and Saint Mary’s (3-1). Santa Clara closed the regular season with a 3-1 home victory over San Francisco. The Hornets knocked off USF in San Francisco by the same score earlier this season.

Nevada (18-12) received a berth into the NCAA Tournament despite losing six of its final 11 matches of the season. The Wolf Pack will be making their fourth appearance at the tournament in the last five years. The team played 19 of its 30 matches at home, and posted a 14-5 record at Virginia Street Gym. One of those victories included a 3-2 win over 12th-ranked Cal on Sept. 16.

One of three teams (Penn State, UC Santa Barbara) to qualify for all 25 NCAA Volleyball Tournaments, Stanford enters the tourney with a No. 5 national ranking and 25-5 record. The defending national champions, the Cardinal have won six national championships (1992, 1994, 1996-97, 2001, 2004). The team posted a 9-5 record against ranked opposition this year, including a 3-2 victory over second-ranked Penn State to open the season.

Head Coach Debby Colberg

For the 30th-straight season, Debby Colberg will control the Sacramento State sidelines. During her tenure, Colberg has posted a 769-277 record (.735 winning percentage) and has led the team to 17 league titles and 25 postseason berths. Her 769 victories are fifth among active NCAA coaches with five-plus years of Div. I experience. Colberg has been named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year a conference-record seven times in the last nine seasons (1997-98, 2000-04). 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 Hornets’ only sub-.500 seasons came in 1977 (14-15) and during the team’s first year of Div. I play in 1991 (13-19). 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.

A Winning Combination

In the NCAA Div. I rankings, Sacramento State is currently the only team to rank among the nation’s top 20 in both blocks and digs per game. The new rankings, which come out every Tuesday, list Sacramento State fifth in the nation in digs and 18th in blocks. The team is averaging a Big Sky-best 19.75 digs and 3.09 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. In fact, Sacramento State will lead the Big Sky in blocks for the first time since joining the league 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 tied for 13th in the nation and first in the Big Sky with 5.68 digs per game, and has at least 11 digs in every match. In fact, Lutes now has 687 digs, which surpassed the previous Hornet single-season program record of 619, set by Jill Haas in 1995.

Sophomore middle hitter Lindsay Haupt (T-17th in the nation and first in the Big Sky with 1.54) leads a group of three Hornets with at least 1.10 blocks per game, including middle hitter Michelle Franz (1.25) and setter Natalie Melcher (1.12). Haupt has 179 blocks this season and needs just 12 more blocks to rank among the program’s top three in single-season history. She is currently fourth on the list, 12 behind Jenny Gunderson’s mark of 191, set in 1993.

Player Notables

Shannon Arts: Has appeared in all 34 matches, including 19 starts...averaging 2.64 kills and 0.66 blocks per game to go along with a .288 hitting percentage...the hitting percentage is the fourth-best mark on the team and the eighth-best mark in the Big Sky.

Rose Burke: Has appeared in 18 matches during her first year of intercollegiate play...started the team’s first six matches at setter...currently averaging 8.53 assists, 1.51 digs and 0.47 blocks per game.

Brittany Ferguson: Has appeared in 20 matches, including 32 games...had at least one kill in 16 of the 20 matches in which she appeared, including each of the first eight matches of her collegiate career.

Jennifer Ferguson: Has appeared in all 34 matches, including 26 starts...posted averages of 1.70 kills and 3.14 digs per game (third-best mark on the team)...has eight matches with double-figure kills and 19 contests with double figures in digs...had six double-doubles.

Michelle Franz: Named the Big Sky’s Newcomer of the Year while also receiving honorable mention all-conference honors...became the first Sacramento State player to earn Big Sky top newcomer honors...currently leads the team and ranks third in the Big Sky with a .345 hitting percentage...also tallied 2.07 kills and 1.25 blocks per game during the regular season.

Lindsay Haupt: Named both the Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player, and MVP of the Big Sky Tournament...became the first player in Big Sky history to earn the MVP award as an underclassman, and the first middle hitter to earn MVP honors since former Hornet Tasman Dwyer (2001)...became the fifth Sacramento State player to earn MVP honors, joining Jill Haas (1996), Maureen Rafferty (1999), Dwyer and Lisa Beauchene (2003)...averaging 2.91 kills and a conference-best 1.54 blocks per game.

Mallory Hook: Appeared in all 34 matches, including 16 starts...has appeared in all 102 of the Hornets’ matches since the beginning of her sophomore season...averaged 2.82 digs per game, the fourth-best mark on the team...raised that number to 3.36 digs per game against Big Sky competition.

Atlee Hubbard: One of two Hornets named first team all-Big Sky Conference after leading the Hornets (and ranking sixth in the Big Sky) with 3.74 kills per game...also second on the team and ninth in the Big Sky with 3.70 digs per game...against conference competition, she averaged 4.30 kills per game, which ranked second in the Big Sky...named to the Big Sky all-tournament team...ranks third in the Big Sky in double-doubles (21) and tied for third with six matches of at least 20 kills.

Leah Klemenhagen: Appeared in 26 matches, including one start...averaging 1.41 kills and 0.45 blocks per game to go along with a .293 hitting percentage (third-best mark on the team).

Kristin Lutes: Named the Big Sky Conference’s Libero of the Year for the second time in three years...also named second team all-Big Sky after averaging a conference-best 5.68 digs per game...has 29 matches with at least 15 digs, which easily ranked as the top mark in the Big Sky...named Big Sky all-tournament.

Natalie Melcher: The only Hornet to start all 34 matches, Melcher started the season as the team’s right-side hitter before being shifted to the starting setter position after Sacramento State got off to a 1-5 start...since the shift was made to Melcher as the starting setter, the Hornets have posted a 25-3 record...second team all-Big Sky with 0.75 kills, 10.38 assists, 1.99 digs and 1.12 blocks per game.

Shannon Roland: Appeared in 21 matches, including eight starts...was leading the team with 3.39 kills per game before she suffered a broken left (non-hitting) clavicle in practice on Sept. 12...doctors expected her to miss 6-8 weeks with the injury, but Roland was back in less than six weeks...had posted double figures in kills in six-straight matches and nine of the team’s first 10 contests prior to the injury.