If the Sacramento State volleyball team is going to contend forthe Big Sky Conference title this season, its match against EasternWashington University on Saturday is a must win.

The match is the last home contest of the season for the Hornetsand will also mark the final time that seniors Lisa Beauchene andKazmiera Imrie will play in front of the home crowd 8212; unlessthey get some help.

Sac State’s conference record stands at 8-2. They trailEastern Washington by two matches in the standings after dropping acrucial five-game match to Northern Arizona University on Oct.25.

Assuming the Hornets take care of business Thursday againstPortland State University, a win on Saturday still leaves Sac Stateone game behind the Eagles.

If Northern Arizona cannot pull off the upset against EasternWashington Thursday night, the Hornets must then rely on eitherMontana State University or the University of Montana to help themout next week.

In the event that Eastern Washington does lose one of those twomatches and Sac State is able to score a win over the Eagles, theHornets would then be tied with them in the standings.

A series of tiebreakers would determine the conference championand the host of the postseason tournament.

Sac State finds itself in this situation partly because of anOct. 12 loss to the Eagles when they were swept 3-0.

In that match, Sac State hit .136 compared to EasternWashington’s .333. The Eagles’ trio of Megan Kitterman,Keva Sonderen and Courtney Bush combined for 37 of the team’s54 kills while no one tallied more than nine for the Hornets.

Sac State has won seven of their last 10 matches, but has beenoutdone by Eastern Washington’s 13-match win streak.