Sacramento State''s match against Eastern Washington on Sunday will be aired live by the College Sports Television Network (CSTV) as part of its broadcast package called "Sunday Night Spike". The contest will be the sixth of a 13-week series of live broadcasts over CSTV. The station, which can be found on DirecTV (channel 610), is currently available to more than 13 million cable and satellite homes nationwide. The match, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 11, will be called by former two-time United States Olympic captain Chris Marlowe and former Pacific volleyball standout Heather Cox. In addition, the contest will mark the first time ever the Sacramento State volleyball team has appeared on national television.

The Hornets have won six of their last seven matches – and 10 of their last 13 – after beginning the year with a 1-4 record. The team has not played on the road since Sept. 24, when they beat Saint Mary''s, 3-1. Sacramento State, which leads the Big Sky in kills (15.30 per game), assists (14.10 per game) and digs (18.18 per game), is currently tied atop the conference standings with Eastern Washington (3-0). No other team in the Big Sky is better than 2-2.

Nevada will enter Tuesday''s match with an 8-9 overall record after losing at San Jose State and Hawai''i last week. The Wolf Pack are 1-6 on the road this season, with their only victory coming against Utah. Sacramento State leads the all-time series, 28-7, with the home team winning each of the last six matches. The match against Nevada will be broadcast live via the internet at www.hornetsports.com (click on "Live Audio" and scroll down to the volleyball schedule).

Portland State will enter Friday night''s match with a 9-5 overall record and an 0-3 mark in the Big Sky. Including losses last week to Idaho State and Weber State, the Vikings have lost four straight after beginning the season with a 9-1 record. The Hornets have dominated the all-time series, winning each of the last 19 matches between the two teams. Portland State has not defeated the Hornets since a 3-0 victory in 1988.

The Hornets and Eagles renew their rivalry on Sunday as Sacramento State leads the all-time series, 13-6. Eastern Washington has won each of its last eight matches, and has lost just three games during that span. The Eagles (11-6, 3-0 Big Sky) are 2-0 at home and finished 14-1 at Reese Court last season. After splitting their two regular-season matches last year, Sacramento State defeated Eastern Washington in Cheney for the Big Sky Tournament championship and the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Eastern Washington finished the season, 29-2, with both losses coming to the Hornets. The two teams have split the last four matches against each other.

A Look At Last Week

Sacramento State went 2-1 last week, falling to 16th-ranked Santa Clara (30-26, 23-30, 30-28, 20-30, 15-11), before defeating Big Sky Conference foes Montana State (30-22, 30-22, 30-32, 30-25) and Montana (30-18, 30-28, 30-17) at home. The victories over the Montana schools gave the Hornets 29-consecutive regular-season conference wins in a row at home. The team has not lost inside the Hornets Nest to a Big Sky team during the regular season since Oct. 14, 1999 (3-2 loss to Montana). After Tuesday''s match against Nevada, Sacramento State has just four home matches remaining on its regular-season schedule.

Head Coach Debby Colberg

For the 28th-straight season, Debby Colberg will control the Hornet sidelines. During her tenure, Colberg has posted a 706-256 record (.734 winning percentage) and has led the team to 14 league titles and 22 postseason berths. Her 706 wins rank seventh on the all-time NCAA list (three behind UC Santa Barbara''s Kathy Gregory) among active coaches with at least five years of Div. I experience. Last season, Colberg was named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year for the fifth time in six seasons (1997-98, 2000-02). During her tenure, she has been honored as coach of the year 12 times, including Region Coach of the Year on four occasions. She has led the Hornets to the NCAA Tournament five of the last six years (1997-00, 2002) and has posted 23 career 20-win seasons.

Colberg came to Sacramento State in 1976 and finished 9-8 in her first season. The long coaching sojourn has taken Colberg through the ranks, from AIAW play in the late 1970s, through Division II and now Division I. In 27 years, she has coached just two losing squads and her teams have averaged 25.7 wins per season. The 1989 American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II Coach of the Year and the coach with the best winning percentage in any sport at Sacramento State, 2003 marks Colberg’s 13th season as a Division I coach. During that time, she has led Sacramento State to winning seasons in 11 of those 12 Division I years.

She also had the added responsibility of serving as Sacramento State’s athletics director from February of 1999 until May of 2002.

Another Hornet Is Named Big Sky Player Of The Week

Senior middle/right-side hitter Kazmiera Imrie was named Big Sky Conference Volleyball Player of the Week, becoming the third Sacramento State player to be awarded the honor this season. She joins Lisa Beauchene (twice) and junior Emily Wilson (once). In three matches last week, Imrie, who earned the award for the first time of her career, posted a team-best 3.42 kills per game and a .408 hitting percentage. The team co-captain hit better than .340 in all three matches and has now hit at least .300 in a team-best nine-straight matches, raising her hitting percentage to .322.

In the Hornets’ five-game loss to 16th-ranked Santa Clara, Imrie tallied 13 kills, a .440 hitting percentage and five blocks. She followed up that effort against Montana State with a match-high 17 kills, a .344 hitting percentage, four digs and two blocks. Against Montana, Imrie again led all players in kills with 11, while hitting .474. In 76 total attacks during the week, the Fairfield, Calif., native had just 10 errors. She has recorded 10-straight matches with at least 10 kills, and has failed to reach double figures in kills just three times this season.

The Tradition Continues

Head coach Debby Colberg has always stressed good defense and passing as Sacramento State has finished no lower than second in the Big Sky Conference in digs since joining the conference in 1996. This year is nothing new as the Hornets'' average of 18.18 digs per game is easily the best mark in the Big Sky, 1.48 digs per game better than second-place Montana State (16.70). The Hornets have moved up to 16th in the nation in that category and have already tallied at least 100 digs in three matches this season (112 at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 100 at Saint Mary''s, and 102 vs. Montana State).

Three Sacramento State players rank in the top eight in the Big Sky in digs per game, including conference-leader Kristin Lutes (4.18). Freshman Jennifer Ferguson ranks sixth with 3.23 and senior Lisa Beauchene is eighth with 3.14. The Hornets have limited the opposition to a .183 hitting percentage this season, as Montana State (.050) and Montana (.098) both failed to hit above .100 this past weekend. Sacramento State has not allowed an opponent to hit .300 all season long and only three opponents have hit better than .250.

Wilson Wreaking Havoc

Through the first six matches of the season, junior middle hitter Emily Wilson was averaging just 1.21 kills and 0.74 blocks per game to go along with a .069 hitting percentage. Since that time, however, Wilson has turned into a different player, averaging 2.55 kills, 1.70 blocks and a .348 hitting percentage. She has raised her hitting percentage to a season-high .280 and has tallied double-figure kills in five of the last 11 matches. In addition, the Vacaville, Calif., native has hit at least .400 in six of her last eight matches, including a career-high .579 (12-1-19) performance against NAU.

Wilson has been even more impressive at the net, averaging a team-best 1.42 blocks per game, a mark which ranks her third in the Big Sky. Including a career-high 13 blocks against Santa Clara, she has at least four blocks in 11 of her last 12 matches. Those 13 blocks against Santa Clara tied her for the third-best mark in Sacramento State single-match history.

Band Leader

Offensively, junior outside hitter Sandra Bandimere continues to be the team''s go-to player as the Roseville, Calif., native is averaging a team-best 3.54 kills per game, a mark which ranks her fifth in the Big Sky. Bandimere has led the team in kills in 10 of the last 14 matches, including a season-high 21 at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She had nine kills against Montana this past weekend, snapping a streak of 13-consecutive matches with double digits in kills.

Her number of kills has a direct reflection on the Hornets'' success as the team is 10-4 when she has at least 10 kills. Bandimere, who was named to the Big Sky all-tournament team in 2002, has seen her kill numbers go up each year from 1.14 as a freshman, 3.42 as a sophomore and 3.54 this season.

How Does She Do It?

Despite being a setter, senior Lisa Beauchene ranks in the top 10 in five of six Big Sky individual categories. The Auburn, Wash., native is second in assists per game (10.86), third in hitting percentage (.353), eighth in digs per game (3.14), ninth in blocks per game (0.89) and tied for ninth in service aces per game (0.32). A unanimous first team all-Big Sky selection each of the last two years, Beauchene has been named to the all-tournament team at all four tournaments the team has appeared in this season. Also, she has been named Big Sky Player of the Week on two occasions. Beauchene has five triple-doubles this year (16 for her career) and narrowly missed her first career quadruple-double last week against Montana State (9 kills, 45 assists, 19 digs and a career-high 9 blocks).

The team co-captain has hit at least .300 in all but seven matches this year. Beauchene has posted double digits in kills six times, double digits in digs 12 times, and has recorded a hitting percentage of at least .400 on eight occasions. In addition, Beauchene ran her streak of consecutive starts to 114 last week as she has yet to miss a match during her entire career. Her 19 digs against Montana State moved her into the top 10 on Sacramento State''s all-time digs list as she now has 1,235.

Brief Notables

Freshman Kristin Lutes has at least 10 kills in 16-straight matches and all but one match this year...the Hornets are 6-1 in four-game matches and have won six straight such contests...freshman middle hitter Leah Klemenhagen is hitting a team-best .438 (8-1-16) against conference competition...freshman outside hitter Shannon Roland has at least five kills in three of her last four matches after combining for one kill during her first six matches of the year...sophomore defensive specialist Mallory Hook has double-figure digs in six of the last 12 matches.