Sacramento State (23-10) defeated Montana State (21-10) in five sets (30-25, 30-24, 28-30, 30-32, 15-8) to advance to the Big Sky Championship match. Senior Jayme Wright led the Hornets with 23 kills.

The Hornets will face the winner of tonight’s match between No. 1 seed Eastern Washington and No. 4 seed Weber State. The championship match is set for Saturday at 7 p.m and will be played on Eastern Washington’s home court.

The winner of Saturday’s match will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The loser will most likely be on the bubble to make the tournament. The Hornets did not receive a tournament bid after losing in last year’s championship game to Eastern Washington.

Sac State and Eastern Washington split their two regular season games this season, with both teams winning, 3-0, on their home floor.

The Hornets also split two matches with Weber State.