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The Upcoming Week: The Vikings are back out on the road this weekend at the BYU Nike Invitational in Provo, UT. Portland State will take on Bowling Green on Friday (9/7) before taking on Utah and BYU on Saturday (9/8).

Week Schedule (All times pacific)
vs. Bowling Green (9/7) at 3:00 p.m. - Live Stats
vs. Utah (9/8) at 9:00 a.m. - Live Stats
at BYU (9/8) at 6:00 p.m. - Live Stats

Media: Live stats will be provided for all three matches in Provo. They can be found by visiting BYUCougars.com, by visiting GoViks.com and clicking on the LIVE EVENTS tab, or by visiting the women's volleyball schedule page.

Last Time Out: the Vikings are coming off a 3-1 loss to UC Santa Barbara in their home opener at the Peter W. Stott Center this past Tuesday. The Vikings dropped the first two sets before taking the third. The Gauchos then took the forth to finish out the match. Jaklyn Wheeler and Megan Ellis both recorded double-doubles while Katie O'Brien posted a new team season high in blocks with six.

Scouting Bowling Green: The Bowling Green Falcons come into the BYU Nike Invitational with a 1-4 overall record. After dropping their first three matches of the season, the Falcons picked up a four-set win over Indiana. They were then swept by Cleveland State to fall to 1-4. They have been outhit in every match this season apart from the Indiana match and are hitting .171 as a team. Danielle Tonyan leads the squad in kills with 64 (3.56 kps) while Laura Avila has recorded 153 of the team's 180 assists. As a team, Bowling Green posts a 1.94 blocks per set average.

Series with Bowling Green: Bowling Green and Portland State have met only once prior to this weekend. The Falcons defeated the Vikings 3-2 at the Cal State Fullerton Tournament on Sept. 1, 2007.

Scouting Utah: The Utes come into play this weekend with a 6-2 overall record. Their only two losses of the season came against North Carolina in the season opener and then against Santa Clara. The Utes are outhitting their opponents .241-to-.120 on the season. Chelsey Schofield leads the team in kills with 107 (3.82 kps). McKenzie Odale leads the team in assists with 291 of the team's 339 total kills. The Utes have five players with 20-plus blocks on the season with Bailey Bateman leading the squad with 43 (1.59 bps).

Series with Utah: The Vikings hold the all-time series lead over the Utes, 5-0, thought the two teams have not faced each other since 1984.

Scouting BYU: Tournament host BYU is a perfect 6-0 on the 2012 season with wins over No. 24 Colorado State and No. 14 Tennessee. BYU is hitting .326 overall as a team. Jennifer Hamson leads the Cougars in kills with 98 and is hitting .386 (98-17-210) on the season. Alexa Gray has 71 kills while Jessica Jardine has 67 of her own. Heather Hannemann is tops on the team in assists with 260 while Clara Parker paces the squad in digs with 112 (5.09 dps). BYU averages 2.95 blocks per set and has four players with double-digit kills and multiple solo blocks.

Series with BYU: Portland State holds the all-time series lead over BYU with a 3-1 mark. Just like Utah, PSU and BYU have not since the 1984 season.

Coming up next: Following this weekend in Provo, the Vikings will return home for a mid-week match-up with the University of Oregon Wednesday, Sept. 12 at the Peter W. Stott Center. First serve is set for 7 p.m. It will be the final non-conference match for the Vikings before they open Big Sky play at Sacramento State and at Eastern Washington the following weekend.

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).

Home Sweet Home: 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. Sacramento State on Oct. 17, 2008. Overall since 2005, PSU has gone 69-12 at home, losing just 69 sets, including only two in 2007, and has lost only 32 sets against conference foes. Under Michael Seemann, PSU is 50-10 overall and 36-4 in Big Sky play at the Stott Center.

More on the Home Court Advantage: 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 six 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. In 2011 they finished 6-2.

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). For the season, she has recorded 110 kills (4.23 kps) and is hitting .254 on the season. Her 104 digs (4.00 dps) is third best on the team. She has recorded six double-doubles over the Vikings first seven matches of the 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). For the season, Schlatter has posted 292 assists (11.23 aps) over the Vikings' 26 sets. She is also the team leader in blocks with 24 blocking assists.

Outside Tandem: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in both  kills (355) and kills per set (13.65). 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 201 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.

Leading the Sky: Portland State leads the Big Sky in several categories. The Vikings are tops in assists (332), kills (355), kills per set (13.86), digs (519), and digs per set (19.96). The Vikings also have several individuals that lead or are near the top of the conference. Jaklyn Wheeler is first in the conference in kills (110) and second in kills per set (4.23). Megan Ellis is second in kills (91) and fifth in kills per set (3.50). Garyn Schlatter is second in  assists with 250 (11.23 aps). Kasimira “Kasi” Clark leads the conference in digs with 131 while Ellis is second with 108 and Wheeler if fourth with 104.

Across the Sky: Northern Arizona (6-0) and Northern Colorado (6-0) continue to be atop the conference after staying perfect through the first two weeks of the season. Idaho State sits in third at 4-1. Idaho State and Sacramento State sit at .500 at 3-3 while three others, including the Vikings, sit at 3-4. Weber State, Montana, and a winless Eastern Washington team round out the conference.