Game Notes (PDF)

Match No. 3  •  Tuesday, Aug. 31  •  7:00 p.m. PT
Portland State (2-0) vs. Oregon State (0-3)
Portland, OR  •  Stott Center

Match No. 4  •  Friday, Sept. 3  •  4:00 p.m. PT
Portland State (2-0) vs. No. 9 Washington (2-0)
Boise, ID  •  Bronco Gym

Match No. 5  •  Saturday, Sept. 4  •  10:00 a.m. PT
Portland State (2-0) vs. Gonzaga (2-2)
Boise, ID  •  Bronco Gym

Match No. 6  •  Saturday, Sept. 4  •  6:00 p.m. PT
Portland State (2-0) vs. Boise State (2-1)
Boise, ID  •  Bronco Gym


THIS WEEK: After opening up the 2010 season on the road, the Vikings return home to host Oregon State on Tuesday, August 31 at 7:00 p.m. PSU then travels to Boise, where they will play in the four-team Northwest Challenge. The Viks face ninth-ranked Washington on Friday, Sept. 3, at 4:00 p.m. PT, before taking on Gonzaga the next day at 10:00 a.m. PT. PSU then closes out the tourney later that day by playing host Boise State at 6:00 p.m. PT.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE VIKS THIS WEEK: Tuesday night's home-opener against Oregon State will feature live audio and video streaming as well as live stats. Links for both can be found on GoViks.com under the LIVE EVENTS tab. At the Northwest Challenge, all three matches will have live stats available, but only PSU's match against Boise State will feature live video. That can be found by visiting Broncosports.com and clicking on the MULTIMEDIA tab. Boise State's Bronco Vision requires a subscription and is a paid service.

THE WEEK THAT WAS IN PSU VOLLEYBALL: Portland State opened up the season on the right foot this past weekend, winning both of its matches at The Invitational At Seattle. PSU started with a 3-1 victory at Seattle on Friday night, before easily sweeping by Mercer on Saturday morning at Bank of America Arena. Whitney Phillips led the way, averaging 7.29 kps, which included a 32-kill performance against Seattle.

PHILLIPS NAMED BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK: With her offensive outburst this past weekend in Seattle, it was no surprise that Whitney Phillips was named the first Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Monday afternoon. The senior outside hitter led the Vikings to a pair of victories at The Invitational At Seattle this past weekend, averaging 7.29 kills and 3.29 digs per set while hitting .333. Phillips also added four service aces and posted double-doubles in both matches. In Portland State's season-opener on Friday at Seattle, Phillips had 32 kills and 13 digs, giving her the most kills by a Viking since 2006. She also registered one ace, one block and hit .344 as PSU picked up a 3-1 victory. On Saturday, Phillips paced the Vikings to a sweep over Mercer, posting 19 kills, 10 digs, three service aces, two blocks and a .316 attack percentage. This is the third career player of the week honor for Phillips.

IT'S BEEN AWHILE: When Whitney Phillips hung 32 kills on Seattle on Aug. 27, it was the most by a Viking in almost four years. No PSU player had tallied at least 30 kills since Jessica Brodie posted 36 against San Francisco on Nov. 25, 2006. Brodie actually had three 30-plus kill performances that season, tallying 33 at Oregon on Aug. 27, and 30 at Weber State on Sept. 14. Last season, Phillips' high was 28 at Weber State on Sept. 25.

VIKINGS' SEASON OPENER HISTORY: Portland State has now won eight of its past nine season openers dating back to 2002. Their only loss came last year, when they were dealt a 3-1 defeat by UC Santa Barbara in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Under fourth-year Head Coach Michael Seemann, the Viks are 3-1 in openers. They swept Bucknell in 2007 and then defeated the College of Charleston, 3-2, in 2008. With their two victories this past weekend it marked the third time that PSU has started 2-0 under Seemann.

THE NEW LOOK 6-2: With the loss of setter Nique Fradella to graduation, the Vikings experimented with a 6-2 offense this past weekend after running a 5-1 for several years. The Vikings have two very skilled, young setters in sophomore Dominikia Kristinikova and redshirt freshman Garyn Schlatter, and Head Coach Michael Seemann plans to play both of them. That means the Vikings probably won't have a player lead the Big Sky in assists, as Fradella did in 2009. That doesn't matter much, though, because Schlatter's attacking ability is a big addition to the offense. She averaged 1.57 kps last weekend while dishing out 7.57 aps. “Domi” did an excellent job of setting as well, averaging 5.57 aps. So far, the duo has combined to help PSU lead the Big Sky in assists, averaging 14.57.

IT'S HAMMY TIME: A starter throughout her career on the Park Blocks, senior MB/OH Christie Hamilton has always been a force at the net for the Vikings. Last season she earned honorable mention All-Big Sky status after ranking sixth in the conference in blocks per set (0.87). Her first three seasons, Hamilton teammed up with the now-graduated Erica Jepsen to form a potent blocking combo. Now she's joined up with senior Lana Zielke and has started her senior season off in spectacular fashion. Hamilton hit .345 and posted a team-high eight blocks (1.14 bps), while adding 12 kills and three service aces in two matches last weekend.

A SOLID ADDITION: Heading into the season it was known that the Vikings would rely heavily on Whitney Phillips on the outside. What wasn't known was who else PSU could go to after they lost three outside hitters to graduation. After one week of play, it appears that sophomore Alexa Rosendale is going to be a solid addition on the outside. After redshirting in 2008, Rosendale saw action in just 10 matches last season and posted six kills. 2010 is a different story, as she is second on the team averaging 2.17 kps, while also ranking second in digs per set (3.33).

THE NORTHWEST CHALLENGE: The Northwest Challenge tournament is a four-team, four-year tournament between Boise State, Gonzaga, Portland State and Washington. Washington held the first year of the tournament, while Portland State held the second in 2009. Boise State plays host this season, while Gonzaga will host the final round in 2011.

SCOUTING OREGON STATE: Oregon State lost all three of its matches last weekend at its own tournament, starting with a 3-1 loss to Portland on Friday. The Beavers then were defeated 3-2 by Sacramento State and 3-1 by Illinois State, both on Saturday. Senior OH Jill Sawatzky paced OSU by averaging 3.69 kps and hitting .250, while frosh OH Kelsey Zimmerman averaged 2.00 kps. Sophomore S Megan McBride dished out 9.15 assists per set and also served up eight aces. Oregon State has been 5-0 in season-openers under Head Coach Taras Liskevych. In his sixth year, Liskevych has a 50-92 record.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON: The Huskies enter the tournament ranked ninth after posting sweeps of Mercer and Eastern Washington last weekend. The Huskies are led by senior outside hitters Kindra Carlson (3.67 kps) and Becky Perry (3.17 kps), and senior setter Jenna Hagglund (10.83 aps). Carlson was a second team AVCA All-American last year, while Hagglund has been named to the third team in 2008 and 2009. Washington tallied 18 aces and hit .427 last weekend. Now in his 10th year on Montlake, Head Coach Jim McLaughlin has led the UW to eight straight postseason appearances and the 2005 national title. He has a 303-103 record at Washington.

SCOUTING GONZAGA: Gonzaga went 2-2 last weekend at the North Dakota Tournament, opening with a 3-0 loss to Drake and a 3-2 defeat to the host Fighting Sioux. They rebounded with a sweep of San Jose State and a 3-2 win over Cal State Bakersfield. Sophomore OH Terran Poindexter has led the way, averaging 2.93 kps, while senior OH Caitlin Cozad averaged 2.21 kps. Senior L Allyson Powell posted 5.06 digs per set. The Bulldogs hit just .123 and held the opposition to a .180 hitting mark. Second-year Head Coach Dave Gantt led Gonzaga to a 10-18 record in 2009.

SCOUTING BOISE STATE: Boise State opened up their season with a 2-1 record at the Falcon Invitational last weekend. The start is the best since the Broncos went 2-1 in 2007. The Broncos fell 3-1 to South Dakota State and won over Long Island (3-0) and Air Force (3-1). Seniors Sadie Maughan and Alisha Young were named to the all-tournament team, while Young led the team in all three matches in kills. Young leads the team overall in kills (42) while sophomore outside hitter Liz Harden leads the defense at the net with 10 total blocks this season. Boise State Head Coach Shawn Garus is his his second season and led the team to an 8-22 mark last year.