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THE UPCOMING WEEK: The Vikings (8-7 overall, 4-0 Big Sky Conference) open their Big Sky Conference home slate this Thursday, Sept. 27 by hosting Northern Arizona (11-2, 3-1) at the Peter W. Stott Center. Portland State will then welcome conference newcomer Southern Utah (6-9, 2-2) in the first ever meeting between the teams on Saturday, Sept. 29. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. PT.
 
THIS WEEKS SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES PACIFIC)
vs. Northern Arizona (9/27) at 7:00 p.m. – Live Stats | Live Video
vs. Southern Utah (9/29) 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: Portland State went 2-0 again last weekend with wins at Montana and Montana State. The Vikings moved to 8-7 overall and are above .500 for the first time this season. They are now a perfect 4-0 to open Big Sky play and are tied atop the standings with Idaho State.
 
Jaklyn Wheeler posted a career-best 26 kills leading the Vikings to a five-set come from behind victory at Montana last Friday. The Vikings dropped the first two sets but then won three straight to take the match in five. Wheeler added 12 digs to her 26 kills for her league leading 10th double-double of the season. Megan Ellis added her own double-double (14 kills, 10 digs) while Garyn Schlatter posted 54 assists helping the Vikings to the five-set win by scores of 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20, and 15-13.
 
The Vikings have now won 17 straight against the Grizzlies.
 
The next night Ellis paced all players with 19 kills to lead Portland State to a four-set win over Montana State in Bozeman, Mont. After dropping the first set of the match, the Vikings won three straight to take the match with scores of 16-25, 25-19, 25-15, and 25-22.
 
Montana State got out to a quick start and hit .519 in the first set it was all downhill for the Bobcats from there. After being outhit .519-to.167 in the first, the Vikings outhit the Bobcats .234-to-.182 for the match.
 
Portland State increased its winning streak against Montana State to 15 matches.
 
SCOUTING NOTHERN ARIZONA: Northern Arizona may prove to be the toughest test for Portland State to date in conference play. The Lumberjacks come into play Thursday with an 11-2 overall record, 3-1 in Big Sky play. They are also riding a three-match winning streak.
 
The Lumberjacks play a complete team game this season. They are second in the conference in hitting percentage (.261) while they hold their opponents to a conference best .168 hitting. They are also second in the conference in assists per set and kills per set. Sydney Kemper leads the conference in hitting percentage with a mark of .389 (103-22-208) in 44 sets.
 
Northern Arizona is one of three teams in the conference, Portland State and Montana State being the others, which has more than one player in the top 10 in kills per set. Kelli Dallmann is fourth (3.70) while Janae Vander Ploeg is fifth (3.45). The Lumberjacks have three players in the top 10 in blocks per set while Anna Gott is second in the conference in digs per set with a mark of 4.55.
 
NAU opened the season on an eight-match winning streak before falling to California in Berkeley (3-1). The Lumberjacks then dropped their Big Sky opener at Idaho State (3-1). They have won their last three matches at Weber State, against Sacramento State, and then at Southern Utah. Northern Arizona is 4-0 in three-set matches and 7-2 in four-set affairs. They have yet to go five sets.
 
SERIES WITH NORTHERN ARIZONA: The Vikings lead the all-time series with a record of 17-15 and have only met since PSU made the move to Division I and joined the Big Sky in 1996. The Vikings are 10-6 at home during the series. PSU swept the season series last year by scores of 3-1 in both meetings and have won 15 straight matches.
 
SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH: Southern Utah was a virtual unknown coming into the season as a new addition to the Big Sky Conference. The Thunderbirds went 11-20 overall and 7-11 in Summit League action last season. They were selected to finish ninth in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll and are currently seventh in the conference with a 6-9 overall record and are 2-2 in conference.
 
Ana Mailoto leads the Thunderbirds with 205 kills. Her kills per set average of 4.02 is second in the conference to PSU's Jaklyn Wheeler. Mailoto leads the conference in points per set with 4.56. They play at Eastern Washington on Thursday before coming to the Stott Center on Saturday.
 
SERIES WITH SOUTHERN UTAH: Saturday's match against Southern Utah will be the first ever meeting between the two teams. The Thunderbirds joined the conference on July 1, 2012 as the Big Sky expanded to 11 full-time volleyball teams.
 
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 (Sept. 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 (Sept. 21) while adding an assist and a season-best three blocking assists. She capped her week by hitting a season-best .356 (19-3-45) with 19 kills while adding 13 assist for her league leading 10th double-double in a four-set win at Montana State (Sept. 22). It was Ellis' first Player of the Week honor.
 
DIGGING HER WAY INTO THE BOOKS: First year libero Kasi Clark has taken her new roll and run with it. She began the year with a career-best 21 digs against Gonzaga, which she matched it 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 237 and kills per set with an average of 4.16. She has recorded 10 double-doubles over the Vikings' first 15 matches and has posted a team-best five 20-plus kill performances including a career-best 26 at Montana (9/21).
 
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 237, while Ellis is second with 195. The duo combines for 432 total kills which accounts for 56.3 percent of the Vikings' kills this season. Wheeler and Ellis are a big reason why the Vikings lead the conference in kills (767) and are third in kills per set (12.65).
 
COMING ON STRONG: Sophomore MB Katie O'Brien has been climbing up the conference's blocking list. She is currently second in blocks with 56.0 (8-48) and second in blocks per set with an average of 1.17. After not start the first three matches, she has started every match since. She has posted seven or more blocks three times including a team season-best eight blocks (1-7) against No. 9 Oregon (9/12). She has posted 23 blocks (4-19) so far in conference play for a 1.35 blocks per set average.   
 
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 626. Her 10.98 assist per set average is 42nd overall in the country.
 
MOVING INTO THE BOOKS: Senior OH Megan Ellis entered 2012 with 599 career kills. She has tallied 195 so far this season, which moves her into ninth place during PSU's Division I Era (1996-present) with 794. She needs 12 kills to move into a tie for eighth at 806. Junior S Garyn Schlatter is currently seventh all-time at Portland State with 2,636 assists and is just one assist away from tying for sixth place at 2,637.
 
UPCOMING MILESTONES: Several Vikings are coming up on career milestones. Megan Ellis is sitting on 794 career kills (six away from 800). Aubrey Mitchell has 394 career kills needing just six kills to hit the 400 mark. Garyn Schlatter has 392 kills and is only eight kills away from 400. Katie O'Brien surpassed the 200-kill mark at Montana (9/21) and now has 209 for her career. Dominika Kristinikova recorded 15 digs over the Montana and Montana State matches and now sits on 600 for her career. 
 
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 Big Sky Co-Player of the Week (Sept. 17-23)
 
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: Junior OH Jaklyn Wheeler leads the conference in kills with 237 and kills per set with an average of 4.16. She is also tops in the league in points per set with an average of 4.46. Junior S Garyn Schlatter is first in assists with 626. Sophomore L Kasi Clark is tops in digs (309) and digs per set (5.42). Sophomore MB Katie O'Brien is second in the conference in total blocks (56.0) and in blocks per set (1.17).
 
ACROSS THE SKY: After two weeks of Big Sky Conference play, only two teams remain perfect in conference. Portland State (8-7, 4-0) and Idaho State (10-3, 4-0) sit atop the conference at 4-0. Idaho State has won nine straight matches, which is its longest winning streak since 1989. Northern Arizona (11-2, 3-1) and last year's regular season and tournament champion Northern Colorado (10-3, 3-1) are one game back at 3-1. Montana State (8-4, 2-2), North Dakota (6-8, 2-2), and Southern Utah (6-9, 2-2) are all 2-2 with the rest of the field below .500.
 
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 109-54 overall mark and 68-16 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 50-11. 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 149-70. 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 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 outhitting their opponent and are 6-1 this season. Since 2007 the Vikings are 104-7 (.937). When they get outhit, the Vikings are 5-46, including 1-13 last season and 2-6 this season.