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THE UPCOMING WEEK: Portland State (13-8 overall, 9-1 Big Sky Conference) begins the second half of its conference season this week when it hosts Eastern Washington (0-21, 0-10) in this season's second installment of “The Dam Cup.” The Vikings and Eagles square off on Thursday before the Vikings host the Hornets of Sacramento State (7-12, 3-7) on Saturday. Both Matches are 7 p.m. starts at the Peter W. Stott Center.
 
THIS WEEKS SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES PACIFIC)
vs. Eastern Washington (10/18) at 7:00 p.m. – Live Stats | Live Video
vs. Sacramento State (10/20) at 7:00 p.m. – Live Stats | Live Video
 
MEDIA: Live stats will be available for both matches by visiting GoViks.com and clicking on the LIVE EVENTS tab or by visiting the volleyball schedule page. Every conference match will be streamed live on Big Sky TV at b2tv.com with Teri Mariani calling the action. A free account is required.
 
LAST WEEKEND: The Vikings suffered their first loss of the 2012 conference season in three sets at Idaho State. The Bengals outhit the Vikings .349-to-.131 to take the match by scores of 25-22, 25-17, and 25-14.
 
Jaklyn Wheeler led the Vikings with 11 kills followed by Aubrey Mitchell with 10. Mitchell hit .364 (10-2-22) while adding a dig and two blocks. Leigh-Ann Haataja recorded three kills and three blocking assists in the match.
 
PSU got back on track Saturday night in Ogden, Utah with a 3-0 sweep of Weber State. Mitchell posted a team-best eight kills and hit .444 (8-0-18) in the match while Kaeli Patton tallied a career-best, and individual team season-best, six service aces in the match propelling the Vikings to the sweep by scores of 25-18, 25-9, and 25-12.
 
Portland State put together one of its most dominant performances of the season holding Weber State to just .011 (24-23-87) hitting in the three sets, which is an opponent season low. The Vikings never trailed in the match and were tied with the Wildcats only once, at 1-all in the first set.
 
PSU tallied a team-season best 14 service aces in the match, led by Patton's six, surpassing their previous high of 10 against Northern Arizona on Sept. 27. The Vikings also added 10 blocks in the match led by Garyn Schlatter who recorded a career-best two solo blocks and added three blocking assists.
 
HISTORIC OPEN: The Vikings started the conference season 8-0 for the first time since making the move to the NCAA Division I level and joining the Big Sky in 1996. The last time the Vikings started 8-0 was in 1995, their last season at the Division II level, when they started 12-0 on their way to a 13-1 record as a member of the Pacific West Conference. The Vikings' eight-match winning streak matched the fourth longest winning streak during the Vikings' Division I era (1996-present).
 
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON: Eastern Washington comes into play this weekend as the only winless team in the conference at 0-21 overall and 0-10 in Big Sky play. The Eagles have had injury problems this season with five of their nine returning letterwinners missing time. Every player on the roster has played in at least one set while 13 players have made at least one start.
 
EWU is at the bottom, or near the bottom, of the Big Sky in every statistical category. The Eagles are 10th in hitting percentage with a mark of .136 while their opponents are hitting .232. They have the fewest assists and fewest kills (795). Eastern Washington has won nine sets over the course of their 21 matches this season and have only been to five sets twice, once at Montana State (9/20) and again against Southern Utah (9/27).
 
SERIES WITH EASTERN WASHINGTON: The Vikings took the previous meeting this season in three sets by scores of 27-25, 25-17, and 25-17. The Vikings have won the last eight meetings but the Eagles hold the all-time series record at 26-17. The Eagles also hold the Big Sky advantage 23-10.
 
SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE: Sacramento State finds itself 7-12 overall and 3-7 in conference play. However, the Hornets have won two of their last three Big Sky matches with four-set wins against Weber State and at Montana State. Sacramento State will take on Santa Clara in its final non-conference match of season before facing Portland State on Saturday.
 
Sacramento State is ninth in the conference with a .158 hitting percentage but is the best at the net. The Hornets have tallied 232.0 blocks this season including a league leading 47 solo blocks. They pace the conference with a 3.18 blocks per set average. They are second in the conference with 107 aces and are tied atop the conference with the Vikings with a 1.47 aces per set. Janelle Currey leads the Hornets with 215 kills while Hannah Hettinga leads the squad with 1,342 assists (7.43 aps).
 
SERIES WITH SACRAMENTO STATE: Portland State took the prior meeting this season in five sets in Sacramento. It was just the second time since 1983 that the Vikings came out victorious in Sacramento. The Vikings took the first two sets before the Hornets came back with two straight wins to force the fifth set, which the Vikings won 16-14. The Vikings have won three straight. Sacramento State leads the all-time series 36-19 and is 12-10 in Portland.
 
THE TRIFECTA: Portland State racked up three straight Big Sky Volleyball Player of the Week honors earlier this season. Megan Ellis (Sept .17-23) was named co-player of the week followed by Jaklyn Wheeler (Sept. 24-30). Garyn Schlatter then picked up her third career honor for the week of Oct. 1-7. It was the first time the Vikings earned three-straight honors since 2009 when Marija Vojnovic won the award followed by back-to-back honors for Whitney Phillips. It was also the first time that three different Vikings have earned the award in as many weeks.
 
HIT PARADE: The Vikings came out ready to play when they hosted Northern Colorado (10/4). Portland State hit a season-best .355 (48-10-107) as a team. It was the first time the Vikings hit over .350 as a team since hitting .432 (50-9-95) against Seattle University in 2010. Megan Ellis hit a team season-high .429 (14-2-28) in the match while Aubrey Mitchell posted a .500 (11-1-20) hitting percentage. The Vikings tallied 48 kills while committing only 10 errors in the three set sweep of the Bears.
 
ACES, VIKINGS, ACES: The Vikings tallied a season-high 10 service aces against Northern Arizona on Sept. 27, which is the most since the Vikings posted 10 against Seattle University on Aug. 31, 2011. Kasi Clark led the way for the Vikings with five aces, including three during a PSU 7-0 run in the third set. Clark's five aces are the most by an individual since Dominika Kristinikova tallied five against Weber State on Sept. 17, 2011. Clark is third in the Big Sky with 0.38 aces per set while the Vikings are fourth with 1.28 aces per set as a team.
 
ACES PART DEUX: Portland State improved its season best in service aces by posting a conference-best 14 service aces in a three-set sweep of Weber State (10/13). The Vikings recorded eight aces in the second set alone on their way to the season high. Kaeli Patton tallied a career-high six aces, which is the first time a Viking has tallied six or more aces since Whitney Phillips tallied six at Northern Arizona (10/16/10).
 
DIGGING HER WAY INTO THE BOOKS: First-year libero Kasi Clark has taken well to her new roll. She began the year with a career-best 21 digs against Gonzaga, which she matched against UC Santa Barbara and again against Utah. She topped that mark with 30 digs at BYU before setting her current career mark of 41 digs at Sacramento State. With her 41 digs, Clark became the first Viking to surpass the 40-dig mark since Sarah Sirianni posted 43 at Idaho State in 2005.
 
MAKING AN IMPACT: Junior OH Jaklyn Wheeler made her first appearance for the Vikings at the Northwest Classic and immediately made her presence known. She opened the season with a 21 kill, 20-dig performance against Gonzaga (9/24). She currently leads the Big Sky Conference in kills with 312 and kills per set with an average of 4.11. She has recorded 13 double-doubles over the Vikings' first 21 matches and has posted a team-best five 20-plus kill performances including a career-best 26 at Montana (9/21). She was also named the Big Sky Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 24-30.
 
OUTSIDE TANDEM: Portland State's outside hitting tandem of Jaklyn Wheeler and Megan Ellis has proved to be the most prolific duo in the Big Sky Conference. Wheeler is first in the conference in kills with 312, while Ellis is fifth with 211. The duo combines for 556 total kills, which accounts for 55.1 percent of the Vikings' kills this season.
 
COMMANDING THE FLOOR: Junior S Garyn Schlatter has embraced her role as the on-court leader. She opened the season with a career-best 62 assists against Gonzaga (8/24) while adding 10 digs for her first double-double of the season. She added another 53 digs in the Vikings first win of the season against Boise State (8/25). She is second in the conference in assists with 818. Her 10.76 assists per set average is fourth in the conference.
 
MOVING INTO THE BOOKS: Senior OH Megan Ellis entered 2012 with 599 career kills and outside the PSU top 10. She has tallied 313 so far this season, which moves her into sole possession of seventh place during PSU's Division I Era (1996-present) with 841 surpassing Michelle Segun (Robertson) (2004-07).
 
CAREER MILESTONES: Megan Ellis surpassed the 800-kill mark with her 10-kill performance against Northern Arizona (9/27) and passed the 700-dig mark with nine digs against North Dakota (10/6). Aubrey Mitchell passed the 400-kill mark against Southern Utah (9/29) and now has 444 for her career. Dominika Kristinikova passed the 600-dig mark against Montana State (9/22) and now has 620 for her career. Katie O'Brien surpassed the 200-kill mark at Montana (9/21) and now has 223 for her career. Garyn Schlatter tallied her 400th-career kill against Northern Colorado (10/4).
 
2012 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:
• Aug. 24 – Portland State picks up its first victory of the season in five sets against Boise State at the Northwest Classic.
• Sept. 1 – Portland State posted a season-high hitting percentage of .325 (51-11-123) against Northern Illinois at the Bankers Classic.
• Sept. 15 – Kasi Clark posted a career-best 41 digs against Sacramento State and is the first Vikings to surpass the 40-dig mark since Sarah Sirianni posted 43 at Idaho State in 2005
• Sept. 21 – Jaklyn Wheeler posted a career-best and team high 26 kills at Montana.
• Sept. 24 – Megan Ellis was named the Big Sky Volleyball Co-Player of the Week (Sept. 17-23).
• Sept. 27 – Kasi Clark posted five aces while the Vikings tallied a season-high 10 aces in a sweep of Northern Arizona.
• Sept. 29 – Portland State reached the double-digit win mark with a four-set win over Southern Utah. Head Coach Michael Seemann tallied his 70th career Big Sky Victory.
• Oct. 1 – Jaklyn Wheeler was named the Big Sky Volleyball Player of the Week (Sept. 24-30).
• Oct. 4 – Portland State hit a season-high .355 as a team and moved to 7-0 to start Big Sky play for the first time since 2007. Megan Ellis hit a team season-best .429 (14-2-28).
• Oct. 6 – The Vikings moved to 8-0 in conference play for the first time since moving to the NCAA Division I level in 1996.
• Oct. 8 – Garyn Schlatter was named the Big Sky Volleyball Player of the Week (Oct. 1-7).
• Oct. 13 – Portland State tallied a season-high 15 service aces while Kaeli Patton became the first Viking to record six or more aces since 2010.
 
TICKETS: Single match tickets for the 2012 Volleyball season can be purchased at the door starting one hour prior to match time. Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for youth (17 and under).
 
LEADING THE SKY: Portland State leads the Big Sky in digs (1,303) and digs per set (17.14). The Vikings are the only team with over 1,200 digs this season. They also pace the conference in service aces (112) and aces per set (1.47). Junior OH Jaklyn Wheeler leads the conference in kills (312), kills per set (4.14), points (333.5), and is third in points per set (4.39). Libero Kasi Clark leads the conference in digs (394) and digs per set (5.18).
 
ACROSS THE SKY: Portland State fell from the ranks of the conference's unbeaten with a loss at Idaho State last Friday. The Vikings (9-1) and Bengals (9-1) are atop the conference with the Bengals holding the tiebreaker. Northern Arizona is one match back at 8-2 while Northern Colorado is two matches back at 7-3. Montana State is tied for fifth with newcomer North Dakota at 5-5. The rest of the conference is below .500 with Eastern Washington still winless at 0-10.
 
BIG SKY POLL: The Vikings were selected second in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. Portland State was picked to finish second with one first-place vote and 88 total points trailing 2011 regular season and Big Sky Tournament winner Northern Colorado by 11 points. In 2011 PSU defeated Sacramento State in the semifinals of the Big Sky Tournament, but lost to Northern Colorado in the championship. Portland State finished the 2011 campaign 18-13 overall and 12-4 in the league.
 
LAST SEASON: PSU finished the 2011 campaign with an 18-13 overall record and finished second in the Big Sky regular season with a record of 12-4, one match behind Northern Colorado. After defeating Sacramento State in the Big Sky Tournament semifinals, the Vikings fell to Northern Colorado in straight sets to end their season.
 
THE MAN IN CHARGE: In his sixth season as the head coach, Michael Seemann has compiled a 114-55 overall mark and 73-17 Big Sky record during his time on the Park Blocks. In his previous five seasons at Portland State, Seemann has posted 20-win seasons four times. He has led the Vikings to three Big Sky Conference regular season titles (2007, 2009 and 2010), and a pair of conference tournament titles (2008 and 2010).
 
His Viking squads have been particularly impressive at the Peter W. Stott Center, going 52-11. The 2010 Big Sky Coach of the Year, Seemann has watched his players be named all-conference 18 times, including eight first team selections. In 2009, Nique Fradella was named Big Sky MVP, and in 2010 it was Whitney Phillips who was tabbed at the league's top player.
 
Seemann spent two years as an assistant under Jeff Mozzochi before taking the reigns; he was a big part of the Vikings' turnaround in 2005. Since he has been a part of the program, PSU has gone 154-71. PSU players have also excelled in the classroom over the past five years, with 39 players being named to the Big Sky Fall All-Academic Team, including a school record 10 in 2010.
 
Additionally, in 2008 and 2009, Erica Jepsen (2006-09) was a first team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII honoree. In 2007, Jepsen was a third team pick, while Nique Fradella (2006-09) earned second team honors.
 
THE KEY TO A “W”: Over the past six seasons under Michael Seemann there has been one glaring key to a Portland State victory – winning the hitting percentage battle. The Vikings were 17-0 in 2011 when outhitting their opponent and are 11-1 this season. Since 2007 the Vikings are 109-7 (.940). When they get outhit, the Vikings are 5-47, including 1-13 last season and 2-7 this season.
 
SCHLATTER PICKS UP VIKINGS THIRD STRAIGHT POTW: Junior setter Garyn Schlatter was named the Big Sky Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 1-7. It was her third career player of the week honor. Schlatter led the Vikings to back-to-back conference sweeps over the 2011 regular season and tournament champion Northern Colorado and conference newcomer North Dakota too keep Portland State perfect in conference play at 8-0. Schlatter paced the Vikings with 68 assists on the weekend for an 11.33 assists per set average. She also led the team in blocks with eight (1-7) for a 1.33 blocks per set average. Schlatter added eight kills, nine digs, and two service aces on her way to a total of 14.5 points on the weekend.
 
WHEELER EARNS POTW HONORS: Junior OH Jaklyn Wheeler picked up the Vikings second consecutive Big Sky Volleyball Player of the Week honor after earning the honor for the week of Sept. 24-30. Wheeler tallied 36 kills over Portland State's two matches on the week and averaged 5.14 kills per set. She also tallied 18 digs (2.57 digs per set), four blocks (one solo, three assisted) and a team-best 38.5 points (5.50 points per set).
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: Senior OH Megan Ellis earned Big Sky Conference Volleyball Co-Player of the Week honors for the week of Sept. 17-23. Ellis recorded 11 kills and six digs in a sweep of Eastern Washington (9/17) to start the week. She then posted her ninth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 10 digs in a five-set win at Montana (9/21) while adding an assist and a season-best three blocking assists. She capped her week by hitting .356 (19-3-45) with 19 kills while adding 13 assist for her 10th double-double in a four-set win at Montana State (Sept. 22). It was Ellis' first Player of the Week honor.