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THE UPCOMING WEEK: After playing its last four matches at home the Portland State women's volleyball team (17-8 overall, 13-1 Big Sky Conference) will hit the road this weekend for its first ever trip to Southern Utah (9-16, 5-8) this Thursday, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. PT. The Vikings will then head to Flagstaff, Ariz. for a Saturday, Nov. 3 matchup with Northern Arizona (18-4, 10-3).
 
THIS WEEKS SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES PACIFIC)
at Southern Utah (11/1) at 6:00 p.m. PT – Live Stats | Live Video
at Northern Arizona (11/3) at 6:00 p.m. PT – 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 BigSkyTV.org.
 
LAST WEEKEND: The Portland State stayed perfect in conference home matches with a pair of four-set wins over Montana State and Montana last weekend. Senior outside hitter Megan Ellis recorded her fifth career 20-plus kill performance with 20 kills and 13 digs for her 13th double-double of the season against Montana State. Junior outside hitter Jaklyn Wheeler (15 kills, 14 digs) and junior setter Garyn Schlatter (42 assists, 13 digs) also posted double-doubles in the match helping the Vikings to the win by scores of 25-14, 25-23, 21-25, and 25-21.
 
Junior OH Aubrey Mitchell tied her career high with 18 kills leading the Vikings to the win over Montana in their annual “Dig Pink Match” in honor of breast cancer awareness month. Mitchell hit .485 (18-2-33) for the match to pace Portland State, which took the match by scores of 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, and 25-18. Wheeler (18 kills, 13 digs) and Ellis (13 kills, 10 digs) again posted double-doubles in the match.
 
SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH: Southern Utah comes into Thursday's match 9-16 overall this season and 5-8 in the Thunderbirds first year in the Big Sky Conference. They have gone 2-4 since meeting the Vikings earlier this season. SUU is seventh in the conference in team hitting percentage (.195) and third in blocking with 2.57 blocks per set.
 
Ana Mailoto leads the squad in kills with 344, which is third most in the conference. She is also second in the conference in points per set with a mark of 4.40. Gabi Mirand is seventh in the conference in assists per set (9.20) and third in service aces per set (0.38).
 
SERIES WITH SOUTHERN UTAH: Thursday's match will be the second meeting all-time between the Vikings and Thunderbirds and the first between the two in Cedar City, Utah. The Vikings won the only previous meeting in four-sets earlier this season in Portland. The Thunderbirds took the first set before the Vikings won three straight to take the match. 
 
SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA: NAU has a 10-3 Big Sky record and is 18-4 overall. The Lumberjacks are third in the conference, two matches behind the Vikings. NAU will take on Eastern Washington Thursday night before facing PSU on Saturday.
 
The Lumberjacks have two players, Sydney Kemper and Payton Bock, in the conference's top 10 in hitting percentage. Kemper is hitting .354 this season. Bock is also third in the conference in blocks with 1.25 blocks per set. Anna Gott is second in the conference in digs per set with a mark of 5.12.
 
SERIES WITH NORTHERN ARIZONA: Portland State leads the all-time series and Big Sky series 18-15. NAU leads the series in Flagstaff, 9-7. PSU took the previous meeting this season 3-0 on Sept. 27 in Portland. The Vikings have won the last 16 meetings in the series.
 
THANKSGIVING PLANS: The Vikings already have their plans made for Thanksgiving weekend as they punched their ticket to the Big Sky Tournament with their win over Montana last weekend. The Vikings are 13-1 in conference and have six matches to play. Idaho State has also clinched a spot in the tournament. 2012 will be the eight consecutive season the Vikings have advanced to the tournament. 
 
HOME DOMINATION … AGAIN: Under Head Coach Michael Seemann, the Vikings are 58-11 (.841) overall at home and a staggering 44-4 (.917) in Big Sky home matches including an 8-0 mark this season. The Vikings have posted three 8-0 seasons under Seemann (2007, 2009, and 2010) and went 6-2 in both 2008 and 2011. The Vikings end the season with home matches with Weber State and Idaho State.

ACROSS THE SKY: The Vikings are back atop the Big Sky in sole possession of first place at 13-1. The Vikings have already clinched a spot in this season's Big Sky Tournament in Greeley, Colo. Idaho State is one match back at 12-2 and has also clinched a spot. Northern Arizona is two matches back going into this weekend at 10-3. Northern Colorado is next at 9-5 while Montana State and North Dakota are at .500 in conference at 7-7. The rest of the Big Sky is under .500 in conference.
 
BLOCK PARTY: The Vikings recorded three straight double-digit blocking performances after only getting back-to-back double-digit blocking performances one other time this season. The Vikings recorded 10 blocks, including five solo blocks at Weber State (10/13). They then posted 12 blocks (0-24) against Eastern Washington (10/18) before adding 11 blocks (1-20) against Sacramento State (10/20).
 
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.
 
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).
 
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).
 
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 15-1 this season. Since 2007 the Vikings are 113-7 (.942). When they get outhit, the Vikings are 5-47, including 1-13 last season and 2-7 this season.
 
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 is second in the Big Sky Conference in kills with 367 and kills per set with an average of 4.03. She has recorded 16 double-doubles over the Vikings' first 25 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 second in the conference in kills with 367, while Ellis is fifth with 301. The duo combines for 668 total kills, which accounts for 54.3 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 leads the conference in assists with 1,000. Her 10.99 assists per set average is second in the conference.
 
MOVING ON UP: With her 56-assist performance against Montana last Saturday, Garyn Schlatter eclipsed the 1,000-assist mark for the second time in her career. Her 1,000 assists for the year gives her 3,010 for her career. She now sits fifth all-time at Portland State in career assists. Schlatter is 261 assists away from tying for 10th on the PSU all-time single-season list.
 
MOVING INTO THE BOOKS: Senior OH Megan Ellis entered 2012 with 599 career kills and outside the PSU top 10. She has tallied 301 so far this season, which moves her into sole possession of seventh place during PSU's Division I Era (1996-present) with an even 900, surpassing Michelle Segun (Robertson) (2004-07).
 
CAREER MILESTONES: Megan Ellis surpassed the 900-kill mark against Montana (10/27) with a 13-kill performance, the 800-kill mark Northern Arizona (9/27), and the 700-dig mark against North Dakota (10/6). Aubrey Mitchell passed the 400-kill mark against Southern Utah (9/29) and now has 696 for her career. Dominika Kristinikova passed the 600-dig mark against Montana State (9/22) and now has 646 for her career. Katie O'Brien surpassed the 200-kill mark at Montana (9/21) and now has 233 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.
• Oct. 27 - Garyn Schlatter hit the 1,000-assist mark for the season and Megan Ellis hit the 900-kill mark for her career against Montana.
 
LEADING THE SKY: Portland State leads the Big Sky in digs (1,583) and digs per set (17.40). The Vikings are the only team with over 1,500 digs this season. They also pace the conference in service aces (139) and aces per set (1.53). Libero Kasi Clark leads the conference in digs (485) and digs per set (5.33).
 
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).
 
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 118-55 overall mark and 77-17 Big Sky record during his time on the Park Blocks. In his previous five seasons at Portland State, Seemann 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 58-11. 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 160-71. 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.
 
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.