Football
If it is fall, it must be football season, and Sacramento State’s team is hoping to put last year’s 4-7 season behind it. With a new coach and a new attitude the team is working hard to bring additional excitement and more wins to the Hornet faithful.
This year’s team will be led by Marshall Sperbeck, who became the ninth head football coach in the school’s history in January. Before coming to the Hornets, Sperbeck spent 15 years as the head coach at Foothill College in Los Altos, Calif., producing a 109-53 overall record and leading the Owls to 11 bowl games. In 2006, Foothill finished the season tied for the Northern California Football Association title with a 10-1 overall record and advanced to the Silicon Valley Bowl where it downed Sierra College, 24-0.
On the field, preseason honors continue to roll in for Sacramento State football players as linebacker Cyrus Mulitalo and safety Brent Webber were named to the 2007 Football Championship Subdivision Preseason All-America team by The Sports Network. Mulitalo was named to the second team while Webber was on the third team.
The honor was the second during the preseason for both players. Mulitalo was named to the Big Sky Conference preseason team and Webber was selected to the College Sporting News second team.
The Hornets’ first game is 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1 when they travel to Fresno State to meet the Bulldogs.
Volleyball
The Sacramento State volleyball squad opened its 2007 season Aug. 24 at the Mary Jo Wynn Tournament in Springfield, Mo. The team’s home opener is 7:30 p.m., Sept. 7 against Oregon State. The Hornets finished last year with a 30-6 overall record and a 15-1 mark in the Big Sky Conference. The team will attempt to win its 11th consecutive Big Sky Conference championship this year.
Longtime Hornets head coach Debby Colberg announced earlier this month she will retire at the end of the season. She has been the face of Sacramento State volleyball for 31 years, and during her tenure, her teams have won 799 matches, two national titles, 17 conference championships and have made 19 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Nine Hornets return for the 2007 campaign, and Sacramento State enters the year with a roster that, according to Colberg, could be the best that she has ever put on the floor. The Hornets believe they are ready to make their sixth straight and 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 11 years.
Soccer
The men’s and women’s soccer teams warmed up for their season during exhibition matches earlier this month. The men’s team will open its regular season on the road at the Dayton Tournament Aug. 31. The home opener is Friday, Sept. 7 when the team will host Portland. The men’s team finished third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation last year with a 4-4-2 conference mark. The Hornets, who posted an overall record of 7-10-2 last season for head coach Michael Linenberger, return two All-MPSF performers from a season ago. Junior Adam Owens was a first team selection in 2006 and senior Eli Millan was a second team honoree
The first regular season matchup for the women’s team is a home game against Mount St. Mary’s Sunday, Sept. 2 at noon. The team is coming off a school record 10-win season and it has been picked by many as the favorite to win the Big Sky Conference in 2007. Last year the Hornets tied Idaho State in the Big Sky Conference Championship game, but lost in penalty kicks.
“Being picked to finish first in the Big Sky by the coaches is a great honor, being that our conference has become so much stronger in recent years,” first year head coach Randy Dedini said. “This will also be gratifying to our players who were here in 2005 when we were picked to finish dead last.”
The Hornets return two-time first team all-Big Sky forward Katie McCoy, who enters her senior season ranked fourth in school history in points with 41. McCoy scored four goals and recorded a school record seven assists in 2007 on her way to her third all-Big Sky selection in as many years. Second team all-Big Sky midfielder Katie Burton also returns for her senior season, as does honorable mention all-Big Sky performer Kayelyn Satkowski, who finished second in the conference in scoring with nine goals in 2006.
Cross country
The Sacramento State cross country teams begin their season Friday Aug. 31 at the Wolf Pack Invitational in Reno Nev., then return home to host the annual Hornet Jamboree cross country meet Sept. 15 at Granite Regional Park. The men’s meet begins at 9 a.m. and the women’s meet begins at 9:45 a.m. This is the third consecutive year Sacramento State has hosted a regular season meet. Last year, BYU won the men's team title and San Francisco claimed the women's crown. The Hornets finished second in both races.
In April, the NCAA announced that the Sacramento State cross country team ranked among the top 10 percent of all squads nationally in that sport in the latest Academic Progress Report scores.
