Natalie Melcher hunches over, struggling to catch her breath and letting out several deep coughs.

The junior starting right side hitter for Sacramento State volleyball has just completed a sprint up the length of the North Gym in Yosemite Hall and back during team practice last Thursday.

Sprinting is already an uncomfortable task but for Melcher, who several weeks ago found out she suffers from anemia, it looks near impossible.

Anemia is an abnormally low presence of iron, which causes red blood cells to be unable to transport enough oxygen to tissues (like muscles) in the body.

Each run up the floor is a sprint at full speed and the way back she can barely muster a trot as muscle fatigue catches up with her.

According to Melcher, the choice to practice is completely hers despite only being at best 50 percent. She will have to wait at least another week before going at full speed due to blood work results received on Monday which revealed that her red cell count was just one point higher than a week ago.Melcher continues to practice at half-speed and did see limited playing time last week against Pacific and Northern Arizona.

“I just noticed a few weeks ago that I was overly tired and needed more sleep,” Melcher said. “I was very fatigued and out of breath all the time.”

Melcher’s illness, combined with a knuckle fracture suffered last week by sophomore libero Kristin Lutes, has caused shuffling in the Hornets lineup that has revealed depth and resiliency in head coach Debby Colberg’s 2004 squad.

Junior Shannon Arts, more accustomed to playing in the middle, has shifted over to the right side where Melcher normally plays.

“I feel more comfortable on the right (having played more games) now,” Arts said. “Setting the ball and the approach to hit on the right were the biggest adjustments.”

A bright spot to come out of Melcher’s absence to the lineup has been the emergence of freshman Lindsay Haupt, starting in the middle to compensate for Arts’ movement to the right. Haupt combined to hit .559 last week in three game sweeps over regional rival Pacific and Big Sky foe Northern Arizona, also averaging 3.33 kills and 1.17 blocks per game.

Senior outside hitter Jackie Coudert has also been called upon to fulfill a different role, now playing exclusively in back row on the right to compensate for Hook’s shift to libero for the injured Lutes.

“I feel comfortable with either lineup we put on the floor right now,” head coach Debby Colberg said. “We’re fortunate to have such depth at the middle/right side position.”

Coming into the 2004 season, the list of goals Sac State volleyball was as long as it was lofty. Near the top of the list was beating regional rival Pacific for the first time in seven years.

Mission accomplished as Sac State stunned the Tigers 3-0 (30-17, 30-20, 30-27) Oct. 19 in the Hornets Nest. It was the first time in seven years a Hornets squad beat Pacific.

“This feels really good,” said setter Stephanie Gamst, a fifth-year senior who had witnessed four consecutive sweeps by Pacific going into the match-up. “It’s really satisfying to beat this team.”

Sac State volleyball began the second half of conference play Saturday night the same way it started the first half, with a sweep of Northern Arizona.

The Hornets swept NAU in Flagstaff, Ariz. back on Sept. 25 led by outside hitter Atlee Hubbard’s nine kills and 10 digs. This time around it was Hubbard again pacing the Hornets (17-6, 6-2 Big Sky) with 11 kills, a .310 hitting percentage 13 digs and four blocks in a 3-0 (30-16, 30-17, 30-26) victory in front of 602 fans.

Hubbard was on her game again against the Lumberjacks putting together a consistent outing the entire match, something she admits was an issue in prior matches.

“With me it’s a mindset,” Hubbard said. “I admit that in the past motivation and being aggressive has been a problem, but after (tonight) I’m sure I can stay aggressive.

“I’ve talked about it with (the coaching staff) and we agree it’s a mindset that I have to have.”

As for the lineup shuffling, Hubbard said the team is rallying around the absence of Melcher and Lutes and using it as motivation.

“We all realize they’re not in there with us,” Hubbard said. “Inside we’re using that as energy to go out and play.”

Arts says that personnel and lineups are not an issue.

“We all know what it takes to win no matter who is on the floor,” Arts said.

“It’s still volleyball.”