A Look at The Matches

The Sacramento State volleyball team will compete in the NCAA

Tournament for the fourth-consecutive season this week. The Hornets,

who received an automatic berth into the tourney after winning the

Big Sky Tournament on Nov. 18, will enter the NCAAs with a 21-11

overall mark including an 11-3 record over the team''s last 14

matches. Sacramento State will face host and No. 4-seed Santa Clara

in the first round this Thursday, Nov. 30, at approximately 7 p.m.

The winner of that match will square off with the winner of the San

Jose State/Long Beach State match Friday night at 7 p.m.

All three matches will be played at the San Jose Event Center

(located on the San Jose State campus) due to the reconstruction of

Santa Clara''s home facility, the Leavey Event Center. The Long Beach

State/San Jose State contest on Thursday will begin at 5 p.m., with

the Hornets and Broncos playing a half hour after the conclusion of

the first match.

Santa Clara, currently ranked No. 17 in the country, enters

the tournament with a 26-4 record. Like the Hornets, the Broncos also

received an automatic berth by winning the West Coast Conference

championship. The team was a perfect 9-0 at home this season with its

four losses coming on the road to Arizona, Pepperdine, UC Santa

Barbara and Stanford. Santa Clara defeated Sacramento State this

season, 3-1, on Sept. 12 in Hornet Gym. The loss to the Broncos was

just one of two home defeats the Hornets suffered all year.

Long Beach State, currently ranked No. 13, received a bid to

the tournament after going 22-7 this season including an 11-5 mark in

the Big West. The 49ers have won each of their last seven matches

including a 3-1 home victory over No. 2 Hawaii last Saturday to wrap

up the regular season.

San Jose State enters the tournament with a 22-9 overall

record. The Spartans, who finished 13-3 in the Western Athletic

Conference, have the unique advantage of playing on their home floor

for the tournament despite not being the host institution. The

Hornets defeated San Jose State in Hornet Gym earlier this season,

3-0, and have beaten the Spartans three-straight times spanning the

last six seasons.

Hornet Tournament History

Prior to this year, Sacramento State had reached the NCAA

Div. I Tournament each of the past three seasons. The Hornets have

gone as far as the second round of the tournament (1998) but were

defeated in the first round in both 1997 and 1999.

The Hornets made their first appearance in 1997 when they

fell to Pacific, 3-1, in the first round at the University of

Washington. In 1998, the team beat Houston, 3-0, in the first round

before dropping its second-round match to host Pacific, 3-0. Last

season, the Hornets lost their first round match to Minnesota, 3-0,

at USC.

A Look at the Coaches

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

Hornet sidelines. During her tenure, Colberg has posted a 650-227

record (.741 winning percentage) and has led the team to 11 league

titles and 19 postseason berths. Her 650 wins ranks 10th on the

all-time NCAA list among coaches with at least five years of Div. I

experience. For the third time in the last four seasons, Colberg was

named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year. She has now been

honored as coach of the year six 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.

Santa Clara is guided by second-year head coach Jon Wallace

who has posted a 47-15 record in his time with the Broncos.

Long Beach State is led by Brian Gimmillaro, who is currently

in his 16th season with the 49ers. The 1998 AVCA National Coach of

the Year has led Long Beach State to national championships in 1989,

1993 and 1998. Gimmillaro has posted a 447-104 record during his

tenure with LBSU.

San Jose State is coached by Craig Choate who has posted a

148-103 record in his eight seasons with the Spartans. In 11 years as

a collegiate head coach, Choate is 177-168.

Recap of the Big Sky Tournament

Sacramento State was crowned Big Sky Tournament champions for

the third time in four years with a convincing 3-0 (15-6, 15-13,

15-4) victory over Eastern Washington on Nov. 18. The Hornets

advanced to the championship match by defeating Montana State in the

semifinals, 3-2 (11-15, 15-6, 12-15, 15-9, 15-10).

Against EWU, the Hornets were led by Tasman Dwyer''s 17 kills

and six blocks while sophomore Jayme Wright added 12 kills. Freshman

Lisa Beauchene, who was named tournament MVP, finished with five

kills, 32 assists, 10 digs and one block. The Hornets, who erased

deficits of 10-0, 11-5 and 13-12 in game two, held the advantage over

the Eagles in virtually every category including kills (50-32),

hitting percentage (.206-.075), assists (39-28), digs (55-53) and

team blocks (9.0-7.0).

In the victory over Montana State, five Hornets recorded

double figures in kills led by Dwyer''s match-high 20. Beauchene

posted a triple-double (12 kills, 60 assists and 15 digs) while

junior Esther Rogers (17 kills, 17 digs) and Wright (15 kills, 17

digs) each added double-doubles. After trailing, 5-4, early on in

game five, Sacramento State ran off 11 of the next 16 points to

secure the victory. The win marked just the second time this season

the Hornets have come back from a 2-1 games deficit to win.

A Look at the Hornets

AGAINST THE TOURNAMENT FIELD