The Sacramento State volleyball team will host the fourth-annual Sacramento State Invitational on Sept. 8-9. The Invitees include San Francisco (West Coast Conference), Syracuse (Big East Conference), UC Riverside (Big West Conference), Western Kentucky (Sun Belt Conference) and Sacramento State (Big Sky Conference).

“We get to see four teams we won’t get to in the conference,” said head coach Debby Colberg. Senior Shannon Roland is focusing more on what she can do for the team, rather than concentrating on the Invite itself.

“My goal is to play my hardest to achieve the goal of a good player and to play as a team,” the senior said.

The five teams will play 10 matches over two days, where each team will play four matches in a round-robin tournament. Tiebreakers will be used if two or more teams earn the same record. At the conclusion on Saturday a tournament team will be announced.

Sacramento State will play both San Francisco at 2:30 p.m., and Western Kentucky at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, and UC Riverside at 2:30 p.m. and Syracuse at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

All matches will be played at the Hornets Nest on the Sacramento State campus.

“We do well at our own tournaments,” said junior Lindsay Haupt. “It will be nice to play at home, in front of our hometown and fans.”

The Hornets won the last two Invites, with a 3-0 record in 2005 and 4-0 in 2004. Tickets are available on the days of the event outside the Hornets Nest. Tickets may be purchased on a per-day basis. Single-match tickets will only be available for Sacramento State’s 7:30 p.m. matches on Friday and Saturday. One-day passes are $10 for adults (18 and over), $6 for youths (ages 13-17) and children 12 and under will be admitted free. The single-match price for Friday and Saturday night is $5 for adults and $3 for youths. As with all Hornet athletic games, students get in free with a valid One Card.

Karyn Gilbert can be reached at [email protected]