Hornets play at Portland State and Eastern Washington this week

A Look at This Week

Fresh off a pair of home victories last week over Montana State and

Weber State, the Sacramento State volleyball team enters the week with a

15-9 overall record and a 9-2 mark in the Big Sky Conference. Winners of

eight of their last 10 matches, the Hornets are currently all alone atop

the Big Sky standings, one game ahead of both Montana State and Cal State

Northridge, who both own 7-3 conference marks. As of right now, the Hornets

own the tie-breaker over both the Bobcats and the Matadors for first place

and the right to host the Big Sky Tournament Nov. 16-18.

This week, Sacramento State plays two road matches on back-to-back

nights against the Vikings of Portland State on Friday, Oct. 27, and the

Eagles of Eastern Washington on Saturday, Oct. 28. The Hornets have already

beaten both teams at home earlier in the year (3-1 over the Eagles on Sept.

28; 3-0 over the Vikings on Sept. 30). In fact, the Hornets have beaten

Portland State 14-consecutive times over the last 11 years.

Portland State, which hasn't played since Oct. 14, will enter

Friday's match with an 0-19 overall record and an 0-10 mark in the Big Sky.

The Vikings have won just three games in 19 matches this season and have

lost 41-consecutive matches over the last two seasons.

Coming off two non-conference victories over both Gonzaga and

Portland last week, Eastern Washington enters the week with an 11-8 overall

record and a 6-4 mark in the Big Sky. The Eagles, who are tied for fourth

in the conference standings, have won five-straight and have dropped just

one game over that span. The Hornets are 8-3 all-time against the Eagles,

but have lost on the road at Eastern Washington in each of the last two

seasons.

2000 Big Sky Standings (as of Oct. 23)

A Look at the Coaches

For the 25th-straight season, Debby Colberg controls the Hornet

sidelines. During her tenure, Colberg has posted a 644-225 record (.741

winning percentage) and has led the team to 10 league titles and 19

postseason berths. Her 644 wins is ninth all-time among coaches with at

least five years of Div. I experience, one win ahead of UC Santa Barbara's

Kathy Gregory. She has also captured league coach of the year honors five

times and Region Coach of the Year honors on four occasions.

Colberg came to Sacramento State in 1976 and finished 9-8 in her

first season. She captured her first league title in 1978 when the team

posted a 12-2 mark in the Golden State Conference. After two third-place

finishes in the Div. II playoffs, Colberg guided the Hornets to the

championships game in 1989. That season she was named AVCA National Div. II

Coach of the Year.

In addition to leading the Hornets to three-consecutive NCAA

Tournament appearances over the last three years, she has also had the

added responsibility of serving as the school's athletic director.

Portland State's head coach, Chris Stanley, is currently 57-116 in

five years at the helm of the Vikings. In 15 years as a collegiate coach,

Stanley owns a 212-230 record.

Eastern Washington is led by first-year head coach Wade Benson, who

has posted an 11-8 record. Benson served as the team's associate head coach

last season.

A Look at Last Week

The Hornets went 2-0 last week including 3-0 home victories over

both Montana State and Weber State. The victory over the Bobcats was for

first place in the Big Sky standings as both teams entered the match with

6-2 conference marks.

Thursday, four Hornets recorded double-figures in kills led by

Sarah Chlebana's 20 as the team defeated Montana State, 15-10, 15-13, 15-5.

Jayme Wright (16), Tasman Dwyer (12) and Esther Rogers (11) rounded out the

foursome in double figures. The Bobcats hit just .143 in the match and the

Hornets hit .250 while also finishing with five service aces and 12.0 team

blocks.

Saturday, the Hornets pushed their record at home against Big Sky

teams to 6-0 with a 15-7, 15-0, 17-15 victory over Weber State. Dwyer led

all players with 16 kills while Rogers tallied 11 kills and a .688 hitting

percentage. Weber hit just .118 in the match while the Hornets recorded a

.358 hitting percentage. In the second-game blanking, the Wildcats hit

-.111 while recording just four kills.

A Look at the Hornets

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

With last week's sweep of Montana State and Weber State, the

Hornets are currently 6-0 against Big Sky teams in Hornet Gym. In fact,

five of those six conference wins have been 3-0 sweeps (a 3-1 victory over

Eastern Washington on Sept. 28 marks the team's only non 3-0 win).

Sacramento State has now won each of its last 10 conference matches at home

and 25 of the last 26. The team's only setback during that stretch was a

3-2 loss to Montana on Oct. 14, 1999.

Overall, Sacramento State is 9-2 at home this year with the team's

only losses coming to No. 14 Pacific and No. 15 Santa Clara. Of the

Hornets' nine wins, the team has dropped just three games during that span

as seven of the nine victories have come by the score of 3-0.

ROGERS NAMED BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Junior outside hitter Esther Rogers was named Big Sky Conference

Player of the Week for her efforts in leading the Hornet volleyball team to

a 2-0 record last week. The Portland, Ore., native combined for 22 kills,

17 digs, 10 blocks and four assists while tallying a .526 hitting

percentage in the two matches. She committed just two errors in 38 total

attacks during the week while posting per game averages of 3.67 kills, 2.83

digs and 1.67 blocks.

In the Hornets' first-place showdown victory over Montana State

last Thursday, Rogers hit .409 while recording 11 kills, nine digs and a

match-high eight blocks. Two days later against Weber State, Rogers

collected eight digs and 11 kills without an error in 16 total attacks.

Rogers, who is currently ninth in the Big Sky with 3.35 digs per game, has

recorded double-figures in kills in four of her last five matches while

hitting .331 over that span.

CHLEBANA MAKING HER MARK IN THE RECORD BOOKS

Senior outside hitter Sarah Chlebana currently leads this year's

team in digs (297) and attacks (881) and is second in kills (268). In her

fourth season with the program, she has now cracked the top-10 in four

different categories in the Sacramento State career records book.

The fourth-year senior from Calgary, Alberta, is now sixth all-time

in kills (1,035) and attacks (2,990), eighth in digs (1,231) and 10th in

total blocks (264). A starter in all but one match this season, Chlebana is

currently tied for the team lead in double-doubles (double figures in kills

and digs) with 10. She's also posted a pair of career highs including 30

kills at Montana on Oct. 12 and 29 digs against Saint Mary's on Sept. 20.

CONFERENCE DOMINANCE

* Since joining the Big Sky in 1996, Sacramento State has posted the best

conference winning percentage of the league's nine teams. The Hornets are

60-12 (.833) followed by Eastern Washington (53-21). Montana State (46-28),

Cal State Northridge (45-29) and Northern Arizona (43-31) are the other

schools with winning league records. Montana (30-44), Weber State (29-47),

Idaho State (18-58) and Portland State (12-62) round out the field.

OTHER NOTES

Sacramento State has now won eight of its last 10 matches and currently

sits a season-high six games above .500...after experimenting with seven

different lineups through the first 12 matches of the season, Colberg has

used the same starting six (Lisa Beauchene, Sarah Chlebana, Tasman Dwyer,

Esther Rogers, Kelly Voeltz and Jayme Wright) for 12-straight matches...the

squad's .358 hitting percentage in the victory over Weber State was a

season high...junior middle hitter Tasman Dwyer has now posted

double-figure kills in 10-consecutive matches and 17 of her last 18. Among

conference leaders, Dwyer is second in blocks (1.46 per game), sixth in

hitting percentage (.304) and eighth in kills (3.84 per game)...the

Hornets' 15-0 game-two victory over Weber State marked the team's first

shutout since blanking Portland State in the first game of a 3-0 win on

Oct. 28, 1999...Sacramento State is currently second in the Big Sky in digs

(20.58 per game) and third in kills (16.73 per game), blocks (2.65 per

game) and assists (14.80 per game)...sophomore Jayme Wright has recorded

double-figures in kills in seven-straight matches and 11 of her last 12.

However, her streak of six-consecutive double-doubles came to a close

against Weber State...freshman Olivia Thomas remains second in the Big Sky

with 0.38 service aces per game.