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The Upcoming Week: The Vikings opens their Big Sky Conference slate this weekend when they travel to Sacramento State Saturday followed by a Dam Cup showdown with Eastern Washington Monday.

This Weeks Schedule
at Sacramento State (9/15) at 7:00 p.m. - Live Stats | Live Video
at Eastern Washington (9/17) at 7:00 p.m. - Live Stats | Live Video

Media: Live stats can be found by visiting GoViks.com and clicking on the LIVE EVENTS tab or by visiting the women's volleyball schedule page. A live video feed is also available at b2tv.com. A free account is required.

Last Time Out: The Vikings fell in straight sets to No. 9 Oregon on Tuesday. Oregon lead early in the first before PSU tied it half way through the first. Oregon finished out the first with a 25-23 win. PSU held a 23-21 lead late in the second, but four straight PSU attacking errors gave Oregon the second set win, again 25-23. Oregon then finished the sweep with a 25-19 win in the third set.

Scouting Sacramento State: Sacramento State comes into play Saturday with a 5-5 overall record. Hornets are 1-0 in conference play after defeating Eastern Washington Thursday night. The Hornets are 3-1  at home this season. Jessie Genger leads the Hornets in kills with 115 with Janelle Currey just behind with 113. The Hornets lead the Big Sky Conference in blocks this season with 106.0 total blocks (21-170) for a 2.94 blocks per set average.

Series with Sacramento State: Saturday's match with Sacramento State will be the first meeting between the two schools in a PSU Big Sky Conference opener. The Hornets lead the all-time series with the Vikings, 36-18. Portland State has not fared well on the road in the series and is 1-17 in Sacramento. The Vikings lone win in Sacramento came in 1983. Sacramento State took the first meeting, 2-1 in 1979. PSU has won two straight in the series and five of the last seven including a Big Sky semifinal match last season.

Scouting Eastern Washington: Eastern Washington is the only Big Sky team to go without a win so far this season. The Eagles are 0-11 overall and 0-1 in Big Sky play after losing their conference opener at Sacramento State. Cora Kellerman leads the Eagles in kills with 99 and takes over a quarter of the Eagles' total attacks. Eastern Washington is the only Big Sky team without a player in triple-figure kills.

Series with Eastern Washington: Eastern Washington leads the all-time series with Portland State with a mark of 26-16. Eastern Washington holds the advantage in Big Sky contests, 23-9. The Eagles may hold the all-time series advantage, but the Vikings have won the last seven meetings including a 3-1 victory last season.                             

Conference Openers: Since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996, Portland State is 5-11 overall and 3-4 on the road in conference openers. The Vikings lost their first 10 openers prior to Head Coach Michael Seemann taking over the reigns in 2006. Under Seemann, the Vikings are 5-1 with their only loss last season against Idaho State. The complete list of Big Sky openers is listed below:

1996    L, 3-0    vs. Cal State Northridge
1997    L, 3-1    vs. Eastern Washington
1998    L, 3-0    vs. Cal State Northridge
1999    L, 3-0    vs. Eastern Washington
2000    L, 3-0    at Eastern Washington
2001    L, 3-2    vs. Montana State
2002    L, 3-1    at Montana State
2003    L, 3-0    at Eastern Washington
2004    L, 3-0    vs. Eastern Washignton
2005    L, 3-2    at Idaho State
2006    W, 3-1   at Washington State
2007    W, 3-0   vs. Idaho State
2008    W, 3-0   at Idaho State
2009    W, 3-0   vs. Montana State
2010    W, 3-1   at Montana State
2011    L, 3-1    vs. Idaho State

The Dam Cup: Portland State and Eastern Washington began a five sport rivalry cup called The Dam Cup in 2010-11. The Dam Cup celebrates the friendly rivalry between the states of Oregon and Washington within the Big Sky Conference. The rivalry includes women's soccer, women's volleyball, football, and men and women's basketball. The Vikings have claimed the cup the past two season. The Portland State and Eastern Washington volleyball match on Monday marks the first contest of the Dam Cup for the 2012-13 season.

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 (168) and kills per set (4.20). She is also seventh in the conference in digs (135) and 10th in digs per set (3.64). She has recorded eight double-doubles over the Vikings' first 11 matches. She has posted a team-best three 20-plus kill performances.

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 paces the conference in assists with 444. As of Sept. 9, she was 28th overall in the country in assists per set.

Outside Tandem: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in both  kills (450) and kills per set (13.89). With the addition of OH Jaklyn Wheeler, the Vikings have the best one-two punch in the conference. Wheeler, added with OH Megan Ellis account for 306 kills which is the most by a conference tandem this season. Both are top 10 in the conference in kills per set. Northern Arizona is the only other team in the conference with two players in the top 10. Wheeler is first in the conference in double-doubles with eight while Ellis is tied for second with seven.

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 (728) and digs per set (18.20). The Vikings are also first in assists (512) and third in assists per set (12.80). They lead the conference in kills (548) and are second in kills per set (13.79). The Vikings also have several individuals that lead or are near the top of the conference. Jaklyn Wheeler is first in the conference in both kills (168) and kills per set (4.20). Megan Ellis is third in kills (138) and sixth in kills per set (3.45). Garyn Schlatter is first in assists with 444 (11.10 aps). Kasimira “Kasi” Clark leads the conference in digs with 203 while Ellis is sixth with 144 and Wheeler is seventh with 135.

Across the Sky: This week marks the opening of the Big Sky Conference season with six teams already in action. Northern Colorado, Montana State, and Sacramento State all came away with wins on the opening night of conference action on Thursday while Big Sky newcomer North Dakota as well as Montana and Eastern Washington all lost. Northern Arizona has the best overall record at 8-1 and opens Big Sky action with road matches at Idaho State (6-3) and Weber State (6-5).

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 105-54 overall mark and 64-16 Big Sky record during his time on the Park Blocks. In his previous 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 50-10. 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.