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PSU Opens the 2012 Season
Portland State heads north to Seattle, WA for the Northwest Classic hosted by the University of Washington. The Vikings will take on Gonzaga on Friday night and then Boise State and Washington on Saturday.

Weekend Schedule
vs. Gonzaga, Friday (8/24), at 4:30 p.m. PT | Live Stats
vs. Boise State, Saturday (8/25) at 10:00 a.m. | Live Stats
at No. 14 Washington, Saturday (8/25) at 7:00 p.m. | Live Stats

Media
All three matches this weekend will feature live stats. Links for live stats can be found by visiting GoViks.com and clicking on the LIVE EVENTS tab, by visiting the women's volleyball schedule page, or by clicking the links above. 

Season Openers
Portland State has won nine of its last 10 season openers dating back to 2002. Their only loss came in 2009, when they were dealt a 3-1 defeat by UC Santa Barbara in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Under sixth-year Head Coach Michael Seemann, the Vikings are 4-1 in openers. Additionally, PSU has started 2-0 under Seemann in 2007, 2008 and 2010.

Against the Field
2012 marks the fifth incarnation of the Northwest Classic which begun in 2008. This annual meeting pits PSU against teams from Boise State, Gonzaga, and Washington. The Vikings are 5-7 overall at the tournament, going 2-1 in both 2008 and 2009 with losses to Washington. PSU went 1-2 in 2010 and then 0-3 in 2011. The Vikings are 0-4 against Washington at the tournament but are 3-1 against Gonzaga and an even 2-2 against Boise State.

Who's Back?
The Vikings welcome back 11 letterwinners, including six starters, but lost their starting libero (Nicole Bateham) to graduation. Senior OH Megan Ellis and junior S Garyn Schlatter headline the returners after being named first team all-league picks a year ago. Sophomore MB Katie O'Brien led the Vikings (and the Big Sky) last season in blocks per set with a mark of 1.35. Other returners include senior S Dominika Kristinikova, junior OHs Aubrey Mitchell and Kaeli Patton, junior MB Cara Olden, sophomore libero Kasi Clark, sophomore OH Cheyne Corrado, and sophomore MBs Anna DeMots and Leigh-Ann Haataja.

Who's New?
The Vikings add one freshman to the 2012 roster along with two junior transfers. Freshman Shelbi Miyashiro, a 5-8 setter from Mililani, HI, will be sidelined for the season due to injury. The Vikings also add an outside hitter in junior transfer Jacklyn Wheeler. Wheeler  transfered to the Park Blocks last spring after spending time at the University of Oregon. PSU also adds junior transfer and defensive specialist Mariko Kawashima. Kawashima spent two years at American River College.

Who's Gone?
The Vikings only lost one person to graduation last year in libero Nicole Bateham. Bateham was one of two Vikings to play in all 116 sets in 2011. She led the Vikings in digs per set with a mark of 4.59.

Scouting Gonzaga
The Zags were selected to finish ninth in the West Coast Conference this season after going 8-19 overall and 2-14 in conference play for 2011. Gonzaga returns four starters from a year ago including three who topped the 200+ kill mark and two who surpassed 240 kills. They will be without their leading setter from a year ago, Denise Van de Mortel, who recorded 989 assists (9.42 aps).

Series with Gonzaga
The Vikings lead the all-time series with Gonzaga, 9-5. PSU fell to Gonzaga 3-2 last season at the Northwest Challenge, ending a four match PSU winning streak.

Scouting Boise State
The Broncos were selected to finish seventh out of nine in the Mountain West Conference. They finished 16-14 overall in 2011 while going 6-8 in conference play. The Broncos return only one setter from 2011 in Casey Rose, who returns after posting 469 assists, all off the bench. Senior Liz Harden leads the way in kills as an outside hitter after posting 733 career kills over the past three years. Boise State returns two starters and four overall at the middle blocker position. Three Broncos are expected to see time as the libero this season.

Series with Boise State
The Vikings lead the series with the Broncos going 14-4 all-time. PSU is 2-2 for the past four matches with Boise State taking two straight. The last time the Vikings won was at home in 2009 when they swept the Broncos, 3-0. The two teams first met in 1982. The Vikings won the first 10 matches of the series from 1982 to 1985. PSU is 6-4 in its last 10 matches with Boise State.

Scouting No. 14 Washington
Washington opens the season as the 14th-ranked team in the country according to the American Volleyball Coaches Preseason Poll released on Aug. 13. The Huskies finished fourth in the Pacific-12 Conference in 2011 after going 24-8 overall and 15-7 in conference play. The Huskies return their leading attacker Krista Vansant who led the squad with 398 kills (3.69 kps).  They lost their leading setter to graduation but return Jenni Nogueras who was second on the squad in 2011 with 393 in 63 sets (6.24 aps). The Huskies also lost their top two blockers from 2011.

Series with Washington
Portland State trails Washington in the series with a mark of 12-21-1 all-time. Washington has taken the last 12 meetings from PSU. The last time the Vikings won was at home in 1985. The series dates back to 1979 with the Vikings taking the first meeting, 3-1. The longest Portland State winning streak in the series was four matches from 1981-1984. 

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.

Seeman Earns 100th Career Victory
Sixth-year Head Coach Michael Seemann earned the 100th victory of his career when Portland State swept Sacramento State on Nov. 19, 2011. At 101-47, Seemann has the best record of any coach in the Big Sky over the past five seasons. His 64-16 league record is also the best of any Big Sky coach.

The Man in Charge
Entering his sixth season as the head coach, Michael Seemann has compiled a 101-47 overall mark and 64-16 Big Sky record during his time on the Park Blocks. In his five seasons at Portland State, Seemann has posted at least 20 wins 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 50-9. 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 143-63. 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.

Success on the Road
With their 3-1 win at Eastern Washington on Nov. 12, 2011, the Vikings finished their Big Sky road slate at 6-2 for the fourth time in the past six years. They also had that record in 2006, 2009 and 2010. In 2007 and 2008, PSU went 5-3 on the road. Overall since 2006, PSU is 34-14 in Big Sky road matches, after going just 9-66 in their first 10 seasons as a league member.

The Key to a “W”
Over the past five 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 out-hitting their opponent and are 98-6 (.942) since 2007. When they get out-hit, PSU is 3-40, including 1-13 in 2011. In Seemann's first year, the Vikings went 2-6 when getting out-hit. They were 0-22 over the next three seasons, then were 0-9 in 2011 until Sept. 24, at Montana State. The Bobcats out-hit the Vikings, but Portland State earned a 3-2 victory.

Home Sweet Home
The Vikings had their 16-match Big Sky Conference home winning streak snapped with their 3-1 loss to Idaho State on Sept. 16, 2011. But even with that defeat, the Vikings have easily posted the league's best home record the past five years under Michael Seemann. PSU is 36-4 in conference home regular season matches, having lost just 23 sets, and going a perfect 8-0 in 2007, 2009 and 2010. This year they finished 6-2.

More on the Home Court Advantage
PSU has gone 51-4 at home in Big Sky Conference regular season matches over the past six seasons (7-0 in 2005, 8-0 in 2006, 8-0 in 2007, 6-2 in 2008, 8-0 in 2009, 8-0 in 2010, 6-2 in 2011). The Vikings had a 29-match home conference winning streak that started in 2005 and lasted until a 3-2 loss vs. Sac State on Oct. 17, 2008. Overall since 2005, PSU has gone 69-11 at home, losing just 66 sets, including only two in 2007, and has lost only 32 sets against conference foes. Under Michael Seemann at the Stott, PSU is 50-9, 36-4 Big Sky.