The Hornets continue their five-match homestand this week welcoming the Montana State University Bobcats on Thursday and the University of Montana Grizzlies on Saturday.

Last season Sac State won three of four matches against the two schools, but each match was hard fought. Two went to five games and the loss, at Montana State, was a 3-0 sweep.

“With Montana State it’s their size,” head coach Debby Colberg said. “They have some very big people in the front row.”

One of those “big people” is 6-foot-3 middle blocker Megan Zanto, who is second on the team with 2.49 kills per game. She is one of just eight on the Bobcat roster that is at least six feet tall.

All the height translates into a high blocking output for Montana State. In the Bobcats’ Sept. 25 match against Idaho State University, they had 12 team blocks, led by Zanto’s nine.

Montana has only five upperclassmen on their 16-person roster. As a young team, they have struggled ranking next to last in the Big Sky in hitting percentage, (.175) and near the bottom of every other statistical category.