When anyone thinks about the Sacramento State volleyball team, the things that come to mind are tradition and potential.

In the twilight of her 30th season as head coach of the Hornets, Debby Colberg has created a nationally competitive team year after year. But Colberg wants to keep pushing for more.

In the final game of the season, the Hornets lost to the Santa Clara Broncos in three straight games, after winning the first game in the first-round match of the NCAA Tournament. The Broncos were caught off guard in the beginning by a Hornets team that was thrilled to be competing in the national tournament.

“We came out with a lot of adrenaline. But it is always tough to lose,” Colberg said. “We got beat by a better team.”

While the Hornets were the designated home team, the crowd at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion cheered for the stampeding Broncos to win the game.

“I knew Sacramento State was going to be a tough match,” said Santa Clara head coach Jon Wallace. “In the first game they caught us flatfooted.”

The Broncos would go on to take out the defending national champions, the Stanford Cardinals, in their second-round match. It will be the first time that Santa Clara has been to the Sweet 16.

Back at home, the Hornets are looking back on a season that started off slow and finished with a bang.

Early in the season, senior Natalie Melcher stepped into the setter position for the first time in her career to stop a five-game losing streak, the team’s first since 1998.

While one Melcher is about to leave the team, another will pick up right where she left off.

Natalie’s sister, Melissa, will be on the roster for the 2006 season. Freshman setter Rose Burke, who has struggled with her sets throughout this season, is expected to lead the team in the season to come.

“If our setters can do what we want them to do, then we will be fine,” Colberg said.

The Hornets will also being working on their front row to put together an unstoppable offense, which is saying a lot. Consider that Sac State blew through the regular and Big Sky Tournament with a nearly untarnished conference record of 15-1.

Next year’s senior class should carry on the winning tradition for the Hornets during the Colberg era. Junior libero Kristin Lutes buried the single season record for digs with 707.

Junior Shannon Roland was hampered by a broken clavicle midway through the season and struggled in the postseason. The powerful outside hitter is expected to have a strong comeback in 2006.

Junior outside hitter Atlee Hubbard ruled the net with 466 kills. Look for Hubbard to come out of the blocks with force as a senior. Big Sky MVP, sophomore Lindsay Haupt, followed up her outstanding freshman season.

Haupt posted double-figure kills 22 times this season. She was the defensive backbone for the Hornets on the way to their ninth consecutive Big Sky crown.

This season Colberg’s team made it to the NCAA tournament for the eighth time in nine years and finished with a 26-9 record.

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Brad Alexander can be reached at [email protected]