Winners of five in a row and 16 of its last 17 matches, the Sacramento State volleyball squad (28-5, 15-1) will host this week’s Big Sky Conference Tournament on Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 16-18. The Hornets, who won the Big Sky’s regular season championship, are the No. 1 seed and will receive a first-round bye along with No. 2 Portland State. Sacramento State will attempt to win the tournament championship for the fifth consecutive season, and receive the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

The Hornets have defeated Eastern Washington each of the last four years in Big Sky Tournament championship match, including last season in Sacramento. In fact, by virtue of Sacramento State winning this year’s regular season championship, the team has won either the Big Sky’s regular season and/or tournament championship an unprecedented 10 consecutive years. That includes seven regular season titles (1997-01, 2005-06) and seven tournament crowns (1997-98, 2000, 2002-05). In addition, Sacramento State has finished no worse than second place in the league standings every year since joining the Big Sky in 1996.

The winner of the Big Sky Tournament receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament (Nov. 30-Dec. 1), a place the Hornets have been eight times in the last nine years. After a pair of quarterfinal matches on Thursday (5:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m.), the Hornets will face the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Sacramento State is 9-1 in Big Sky Tournament semifinal matches, with its only loss coming in 1999 to Cal State Northridge. The 1999 season remains the only year in which the Hornets did not reach the Big Sky Tournament championship match since joining the league. Sacramento State is 16-3 all-time in the Big Sky Tournament and hasn’t lost a tournament match since falling to Eastern Washington in the 2001 championship match in Sacramento.

The Hornets’ 28 victories this year are the most since the 1995 season, and the team’s 15-1 Big Sky record marks the third time the team has finished the conference season with just one loss (1998, 2005). Sacramento State swept every Big Sky team this year at home, and 14 of the team’s 15 victories in Sacramento ended in just three games. The team has won 15 straight matches at home since a 3-2 loss to San Francisco in the home opener. In addition, the Hornets have won 55 straight regular season home matches against Big Sky competition, a streak which dates back to the 1999 season.

Since joining the conference in 1996, Sacramento State is now a conference-best 139-27 (.837 winning percentage), with the team’s “worst” season coming in 1996 and 2000 when the Hornets finished with a 12-4 record. In fact, the team has averaged just 2.5 Big Sky losses per season since joining the league.

A Look At The Tournament

The Big Sky Tournament features the top six teams in the nine-member league. The seeds for the tournament are as follows: No. 1 Sacramento State (28-5, 15-1), No. 2 Portland State (19-6, 14-2), No. 3 Eastern Washington (18-8, 10-6), No. 4 Montana (12-14, 9-7), No. 5 Northern Colorado (12-15, 7-9) and No. 6 Weber State (9-23, 5-11). Idaho State, Northern Arizona and Montana State each did not qualify for the tournament. By virtue of owning the top two seeds, both Sacramento State and Portland State will receive a first round bye in the single elimination tournament.

On Thursday, Nov. 16, Weber State and Eastern Washington will square off in the quarterfinals for the second straight year at 5 p.m., and Montana and conference newcomer Northern Colorado will battle in the other quarterfinal match at 7:30 p.m.

In the semifinals on Friday, Portland State will take on the highest remaining seed (Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado or Montana) at 5 p.m., and Sacramento State will face the lowest remaining seed (Weber State, Montana or Northern Colorado) at 7:30 p.m. The winner of the two semifinal matches will play for the conference championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m.

The NCAA has taken just one team from the Big Sky in 14 of the last 15 years, making the automatic berth that much more important. Sacramento State has been the only team from the Big Sky to appear in the tournament each of the last four years despite Eastern Washington combining for a 94-27 record over that span (including a No. 24 final ranking in the 2002 top 25 poll). Three Big Sky teams appeared in the 1999 NCAA Tournament comprised of Northern Arizona, Sacramento State and Eastern Washington.

Web Coverage

All five matches during the conference tournament can be heard live on www.hornetsports.com (by clicking on the Multimedia link) with Brian Berger calling all the action. Live video of each match can be accessed for a fee by logging onto www.bigskytv.org.

Ticket Prices For The Tournament

All matches during the tournament will take place inside the Hornets Nest on the Sacramento State campus (located in Yosemite Hall). Tickets can also be obtained on the days of the event. Ticket prices are as follows:

Thursday, Nov. 16 (one ticket gets fans into both matches)

Adults: $8

Youth (ages 3-17)/Students, faculty and staff from Big Sky Conference schools with valid ID: $5

Friday, Nov. 17 (one ticket gets fans into both matches)

Adults: $8

Youth (ages 3-17)/Students, faculty and staff from Big Sky Conference schools with valid ID: $5

Saturday, Nov. 18

Adults: $10

Youth (ages 3-17)/Students, faculty and staff from Big Sky Conference schools with valid ID: $5

Head Coach Debby Colberg

For the 31st-straight season, Debby Colberg controls the Sacramento State sidelines. During her tenure, Colberg has posted a 797-283 record (.738 winning percentage) and has led the team to 18 league titles and 26 postseason berths. Her 797 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 now led the Hornets to 12 consecutive 20-win seasons. In addition, Sacramento State will post its 29th winning season in Colberg’s 31 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.

Since joining the Big Sky in 1996, Colberg has led the Hornets to six Big Sky Conference regular season titles (1997-01, 2005) and seven conference tournament championships (1997-98, 2000, 2002-05). She has also guided the team to the NCAA Div. I Tournament in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Simple Math

It’s been a simple equation all year to figure out....when the Hornets win the first game, they win the match. Sacramento State is 27-0 when winning the first game this year, including 21 of those contests resulting in three-game sweeps. When Sacramento State loses the first game, the team is 1-5, with the only win coming at Eastern Washington (3-2).

Hornet Briefs

The team’s go-to player on offense for nearly the entire season, senior outside hitter Atlee Hubbard has led or tied for the team lead in kills in 20 of the team’s last 28 matches, including a career-high 27 kills at Northern Colorado. She continues to lead the Big Sky with 20 double-doubles (kills and digs) and has a career-high streak of 14 straight matches with at least 10 kills...the Hornets enter the week as the only team in the nation to rank among the top 10 teams in both digs (19.42) and blocks (3.62) per game...junior middle hitters Michelle Franz (three-time Big Sky Player of the Week) and Lindsay Haupt (two-time Big Sky Player of the Week) are first and second, respectively, in blocks per game. Entering the week, Franz is third in the nation with 1.85 blocks per game, and Haupt is 22nd with 1.47 per game. Haupt (.335) and Franz (.331) are also first and second, respectively, in the Big Sky in hitting percentage...sophomore setter Rose Burke has double-figure digs in 11 of the last 13 matches, and is now tied for second in the conference with 18 double-doubles...senior Kristin Lutes, who ranks sixth in the nation with 6.33 digs per game, has at least 19 digs in 16 of the last 19 matches...Northern Colorado’s .220 hitting percentage last Saturday was the fourth-highest output against the Hornets’ defense this season.