FORMER HORNET SARAH CHLEBANA NAMED ASSISTANT VOLLEYBALL COACH 1/25/2008 SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Former Sacramento State volleyball player Sarah Chlebana will return to her alma mater as she was named assistant volleyball coach today by first-year Hornet head coach Ruben Volta. Chlebana starred for the Hornets from 1997-00. Chlebana, who is one of nine players in Sacramento State history to accumulate 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, brings five years of coaching experience to the Hornets. That includes last year as an assistant at Div. I Long Island University, where she helped coach the team to Northeast Conference regular season and tournament championships, and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. “I am very excited to have Sarah join our coaching staff,” Volta said. “She brings four years of experience coaching at the collegiate level which will be invaluable in helping our program continue to move forward.   “With her previous experience at Sacramento State as a player and her collegiate coaching experience, Sarah will serve as our recruiting coordinator and assist in all areas of team training. She has wonderful people skills and a vast knowledge of the game, and I am looking forward to working with her.” Prior to coaching at Long Island, Chlebana spent the 2006-07 season as an assistant coach for the Belgian semi-professional team Volleybalclub Oudegem. In two years as an assistant at Syracuse (2004, 2005), she helped lead the Orange to back-to-back Big East Conference Tournament appearances for the first time since 1999. In addition, Syracuse combined to post a 50-17 overall record during her tenure with the team. She also spent one season (2003) as an assistant at Div. I Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. Chlebana was a four-year starter for the Hornets, and helped lead the team to four consecutive Big Sky Conference championships and four straight NCAA Tournament appearances. A two-time second team all-Big Sky selection (1999-00)  and 1998 Big Sky All-Tournament choice, the Calgary, Alberta, native never missed a match during her career, and finished with 1,116 kills, 1,348 digs, 271 blocks and 85 aces. Chlebana served as the team captain her senior year, and the Hornets combined to post a 92-40 overall record during her four seasons. She graduated from Sacramento State in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, and a minor in mathematics. Chlebana will join Volta and longtime assistant Weidi Zhang on the Sacramento State bench next year. After spending eight years as an assistant with the Hornets, Volta will take over the head coaching duties for Debby Colberg, who recently retired after 32 years as the team’s head coach. Sacramento State has won either the Big Sky’s regular season and/or tournament championship each of the last 11 years, including a 29-8 overall record, 13-3 mark in the conference, and a second-round appearance at the NCAA Tournament last year.