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THIS WEEK: Portland State plays a pair of home matches this week, starting with a non-conference tilt against SeattleU on Thursday. The Vikings then host Eastern Washington on Saturday. Both matches are set for 7 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE VIKS THIS WEEK: Both matches this week will feature live audio and video streaming through Big Sky TV as well as live stats. Links for both can be found on GoViks.com under the LIVE EVENTS tab.

THE WEEK THAT WAS IN PSU VOLLEYBALL: Portland State suffered its first Big Sky loss of the season with a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat at Sacramento State on Saturday night. The Vikings outperformed the Hornets in nearly every statistical category, hitting .227 to the Hornets' .149 mark, and recording 100 digs to Sac State's 75. But it wasn't enough to secure their second win ever on the Hornets' home floor. PSU also swept an exhibition match against Trinity Western on Wednesday at the Stott Center.

PORTLAND STATE – SEATTLE SERIES NOTES: The Vikings have won all four meetings with the Redhawks, including a 3-1 victory in this season's opener on Aug. 27, up in Seattle. Set scores in that match were 28-26, 25-22, 26-28, 25-18. Whitney Phillips led the Viks with 32 kills and 13 digs, while Alexa Rosendale added 10 kills and 16 digs. PSU hit .229, while limiting SeattleU to a .164 percentage. This will be the second meeting ever at the Stott Center. Portland State claimed a straight-sets win on Sept. 13, 2008, at the PSU Volleyball Showcase.

PORTLAND STATE – EASTERN WASHINGTON SERIES NOTES: Eastern Washington leads the all-time series 26-20 and the Big Sky series 23-5. All five of Portland State's conference wins have come since 2005 (four at home, one at EWU). At the Stott Center since 2005, the Vikings are 5-1 against the Eagles. One of those victories was the 2008 Big Sky Championship match that propelled the Vikings into the NCAA tournament. In the regular season, PSU has won four of the past five matches on the Park Blocks. Last year, PSU swept the season series from the Eagles for the first time since 1985, when both schools were in the Mountain West Conference. The Vikings have won three straight in the series for the first time since they won 12 in a row from 1979-1987.

THE DAM CUP: The Portland State Vikings and Eastern Washington Eagles will begin a five sport rivalry cup called The Dam Cup in 2010-11. The Dam Cup will celebrate the friendly rivalry between the states of Oregon and Washington within the Big Sky Conference. The so-named rivalry refers to the four dams linking Oregon and Washington that one passes on the 339-mile drive from the Portland State campus to the Eastern Washington campus. Located along the Columbia River, they are Bonneville Dam, The Dalles Dam, The John Day Dam and the McNary Dam. The five sports competing for the cup are football, women's soccer, women's volleyball, women's basketball and men's basketball.

THE WINNING STREAK IS SNAPPED: Portland State's five-match winning streak came to an end with their 3-2 defeat at Sac State on Saturday. PSU had lost four in a row before rattling off five straight wins. The Vikings have put up some impressive numbers during the past six matches, hitting .231 while holding their opponents to a .116 mark.

SEEING DOUBLE: For the first time in their NCAA Division I history (1996-present), Portland State had four players tally double-doubles when Megan Ellis, Dominika Kristinikova, Whitney Phillips and Garyn Schlatter all did so at Sac State this past Saturday. The last time they had three do it came in their final regular season match last year (Nov. 20) at Sacramento State, when Nique Fradella, Whitney Phillips and Lindsey Steele all accomplished the feat.

SEEING DOUBLE, PART TWO: Portland State players have tallied 21 double-doubles on the season, second most in the Big Sky behind Sac State's 22. Whitney Phillips leads the team with nine, Garyn Schlatter has six, Alexa Rosendale three, Dominika Kristinikova two and Megan Ellis has the other. PSU's five players with at least one double-double is the most of any conference team.

STARTING OUT HOT: For the third time in four seasons under Michael Seemann, the Vikings started Big Sky Conference action with a 4-0 record. Portland State also started 4-0 in 2007 and 2008, while going 3-1 last season. Overall, this is the fourth time in the past five seasons they have won their first four conference matches as they also accomplished the feat in 2006 under Jeff Mozzochi. Portland State's best ever start in the Big Sky came during Seemann's first year as the head coach in 2007, when they won their first seven matches.

THE BIG SKY LEADERS: Through the first three weeks of Big Sky play, the Vikings are leading five of the seven statistical categories in conference-only matches. PSU ranks first in opponent hitting percentage (.115), assists (13.58 aps), kills (14.32 kps), service aces (1.58 saps) and digs (17.74 dps). The Viks also rank second in hitting percentage (.223) and fourth in blocks (2.53 bps).

THAT'S A LOT OF DIGS: The Vikings tallied a season-high 100 digs at Sacramento State on Saturday, marking the first time they have gone over the century mark since tallying 111 against the Hornets on Nov. 17, 2008, in Portland. PSU also had at least three players with at least 15 digs for the first time since that match in 2008. They actually had four as Megan Ellis (25), Diana Villalpando (20), Dominika Kristinikova (17) and Whitney Phillips (17) all went over the 15-dig mark.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: Portland State has led the Big Sky in opponent hitting percentage in each of the past three seasons, but early on this year they have yet to hold the top spot in the conference rankings. They are slowly moving up, though and are second this week (.180) after ranking fourth two weeks ago. The Vikings started to turn the corner against Cal State Northridge on Sept. 11 and over the past six matches they have held their opponents to a combined .116 hitting mark, while outblocking them 2.73-2.02. PSU has also averaged 17.68 dps over that span, while their six opponents have averaged 14.95 dps.

OUTHITTING THE OPPOSITION: Portland State has outhit its opponents in seven straight matches and is hitting .226 over that span, while the opposition is hitting only .126. Three times over the past seven matches they have held an opponent to under the .100 mark as Montana State (.076), Montana (.097) and Weber State (.061) failed to do so in three consecutive contests from Sept. 17-24.

OCTOBER IS THEIR MONTH: Since 2005, the Vikings are 29-9 overall and 16-1 at home in the month of October. Of those 29 wins, 20 of them have come via the sweep.

SOMEONE ELSE'S TURN: This past Saturday, Megan Ellis paced Portland State with 18 kills in their loss at Sac State. That marked the first time this year that someone other than Whitney Phillips had led PSU in kills. It also ended a 25-match streak of Phillips leading the squad in that category. In all, Phillips has been the team leader in kills in 41 of 44 matches during her career.

A NEAR LOCK FOR DOUBLE-DIGITS: Since arriving at PSU in the fall of 2009, Whitney Phillips had been a near lock for double-digits in kills. The senior outside hitter has tallied at least 10 kills in 42 of 44 matches, an impressive feat. On Sept. 3 against No. 9 Washington, Phillips had just six kills. The other time she failed to reach double-digits was on Oct. 7, 2009, when PSU swept Seattle. In that match, Phillips took a season-low 26 swings and came away with eight kills.

REACHING THE 20-KILL MARK: Not only has Whitney Phillips been a near lock for double-digits, but she has also posted at least 20 kills 18 times in her one-plus seasons on the Park Blocks. In 2009, Phillips reached that barrier 10 times, and so far this year she has done it in eight matches, while narrowly missing that mark with 19 against Mercer on Aug. 28. Phillips has a career-high of 32, set against Seattle in the 2010 season opener on Aug. 27, after putting up a season-high of 28 in 2009.

A LEADER ALL THE WAY: Senior outside hitter Whitney Phillips is one of two PSU captains this season and was also one last year after transferring in from New Mexico State. Phillips has been a leader for the Vikings both on and off the court, but it's on the court where she gets the most attention. Last year, Phillips led the Big Sky in kills and points per set and is doing so again this year. She currently has three of the top five kills performances this year in the Big Sky, including a conference best 32 against Seattle on Aug. 27.

AMONG THE NATIONS BEST: Whitney Phillips has ranked in the top 10 nationally in kills and points per set in both 2009 and 2010. This year, Phillips is sixth in kills (4.98) and seventh in points (5.53), after finishing last season ranked fifth and sixth, respectively.

ELLIS' CAREER NIGHT: Sophomore Megan Ellis played the match of her career at Sacramento State this past Saturday, posting career-highs of 18 kills, 25 digs, three assists and 18.5 points. She led PSU in kills and digs. Her previous high in kills was 13, while she shattered her previous high of five digs. Additionally, she tallied her first career double-double.