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This WeekendAfter playing its first 10 matches against non-conference opponents, including four ranked in the top 25, the Portland State volleyball team returns to the friendly confines of the Peter W. Stott Center to open Big Sky Conference play. The Vikings (3-7 overall) open with the Sacramento State Hornets (5-6) Saturday, Sept. 21 before hosting the first Dam Cup match of the 2013-14 year when they welcome the Eastern Washington Eagles (3-8) on Monday, Sept. 23. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. PT starts.
Live Stats
Live Stats will be available for both matches. Links can be found by visiting the volleyball schedule page on GoViks.com.
Live Video/Audio
Both matches will also be streamed live online at WatchBigSky.com. It is free to watch but viewers need to create a user name and password through the website, and tune in about five minutes before the match begins.
Last Time Out
Portland State went 0-3 at the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Volleyball Challenge in Honolulu. The Vikings opened the week by being swept by No. 10 Hawaii. PSU took the first set against Arizona before dropping the match in four. The Vikings dropped their final match of the challenge to Northwestern in straight sets. Senior outside hitter, and Honolulu, native Kaeli Patton was named to the all-tournament team.
Looking at Sacramento State
The Hornets come into conference play with a 5-6 overall record. They open conference platy at Eastern Washington Thursday night. Sacramento State opened the season with four straight wins at the La Salle Invitational in Philadelphia, PA. The Hornets then went 2-1 at their own invitational before dropping their last for matches including losing in three sets to Boise State their last time out.
   Sacramento State is hitting .241 on the season while opponents are hitting .212. Sloan Lovett leads the team with 133 kills (3.41 kps) with Morgan Stanley next on the squad with 103 kills. Hannah Hettinga is the only Hornet to play in every set this season while collecting 407 assists (10.18 aps).
Looking at Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington is 3-8 overall on the season having dropped its last four matches. The Eagles' last two losses came against No. 8 San Diego and No. 1 USC. They opened the season with a loss at No. 8 Oregon and are the only team other Big Sky team, other than Portland State, to take on more than one ranked opponent this season.
   The Eagles are hitting .188 on the season while opponents are hitting .244 and have hit less than .100 in two of their last three matches. Allie Schumacher leads the team with 97 kills (2.55 kps). Lindsay Neimeier leads the team with 5.63 aps while Sophie Miller has tallied 3.14 aps. Ryann Ensrud is the only Eagle averaging 3.00 digs per set this season.
All-Time Series Marks
Sacramento State leads the all-time series with Portland State 32-25. The Hornets lead the Big Sky series 25-9 but the Vikings have won seven of the last 10 meetings overall. Eastern Washington leads the all-time series with PSU 26-23 and the Big Sky series 23-11. The Vikings have won nine of the last 10 including the last nine.
Portland State vs. The Big Sky
The Vikings are 130-136 (.489) all time in conference play since moving to the NCAA Division I level and joining the Big Sky in 1996. PSU went 12-68 over its first five years in the conference under head coach Chris Stanley including a pair of 0-16 conference seasons. The Vikings began to turn it around under Jeff Mozzochi going 37-49 in his second go-around as head coach. Since current head coach Michael Seemann took over in 2007, the Vikings have been off the charts. They are 81-19 (.810) under Seemann in conference play but are even better at home going 46-4.
Preseason Poll
The Vikings were selected to win the Big Sky Conference regular season in a vote of conference coaches. Portland State received 95 total points in the poll including seven of the 11 possible first-place votes.
Big Sky Tournament
Portland State went 17-3 in Big Sky play in 2012 picking up its fourth conference regular season title under head coach Michael Seemann. The Vikings took the title on the final day of the regular season defeating Idaho State in four sets. By virtue of winning the conference regular season title last season, the Vikings will host the Big Sky Tournament Nov. 29-30 at the Peter W. Stott Center. It will be the fourth time the Vikings have hosted the tournament, first since 2011.
PSU vs. The Ranked
Through the first three weeks of the season, Portland State has faced four ranked opponents. The other 10 Big Sky Conference schools have combined for five matches against ranked opponents. Eastern Washington is the only team to have played more than one ranked opponent. North Dakota and Northern Colorado are the only other conference schools to face a ranked opponent.
Double-Doubles
Senior OH Kaeli Patton recorded the Vikings' first double-double of the season with a career-high 17 kills and 10 digs against Oklahoma (9/7). Later that night against Pacific, Patton picked up her second double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs. Senior S Garyn Schlotter picked up her first double-double of the season, 38th for her career, with a season-high 52 assists and 11 digs against the Tigers while junior OH Cheyne Corrado picked up her first of the season, fourth of her career, with 10 kills and 12 digs. Patton and Schlatter picked up their third and second double-doubles respectively against Arizona (9/13).
Vikings in the Big Sky
Several Vikings rank in the top 10 statistically in the Big Sky. Senior OH Kaeli Patton is fourth in kills (3.54 kps) while Garyn Schlatter is fifth with 9.71 assists per set. Cheyne Corrado is 10th in aces with 0.25 per match while Kasimira "Kasi" Clark is second in digs with 4.71 per set. Leigh-Ann Haataja is seventh with 1.09 blocks per set.
Home Sweet Home
Portland State has fared well at the Peter W. Stott Center under head coach Michael Seemann. The Vikings are 63-14 (.818) overall under Seemann at home and 46-4 in Big Sky play. They went 10-2 at home in 2012.
No. 100
Portland State's match against Pacific (9/7) marked the 100th career match for senior S Garyn Schlatter. She has now played in 103 career matches, which moves her into 10th on Portland State's Division I era career matches played list. Jessica Brodi and Diana Villalpando hold the record for the most matches played during the Division I era with 117 career matches.
Aces Up
Senior S Garyn Schlatter is now in a tie for eighth on Portland State's Division I era aces list with 74. Schlatter has five aces this season and is nine away from tying Richell Wilson (2000-03) for seventh at 83 career aces.
Moving On Up
Junior L Kasimira "Kasi" Clark entered the season eighth on PSU's career Division I digs list. She now has 984 career digs, which is fifth on the list and 22 out of fourth held by Diana Villalpando (2007-10) at 1,006. Clark is averaging 3.94 digs per set for her career. She set the Portland State all-time single-season digs record in 2012 in her first year as the team's libero. She is averaging 4.71 dis per set in 2013.
Terminal Velocity
Senior OH Kaeli Patton led the Vikings to a 2-1 record on the opening weekend of the season at the Northwest Challenge with 31 total kills. Patton has emerged as an offensive weapon for the Vikings after playing much of 2012 as a service specialist and recording just one kill a year ago. Patton averaged 3.44 kps on the opening weekend while hitting .349 (31-9-63). Patton added a pair of assists, two service aces, 12 digs (1.33 dps), and six blocking assists. She leads the team with 4.00 points per set.
Hot Hitting Vikings
The Vikings opened the 2013 season with team hitting percentage of .457 (48-11-81). It was the first time the Vikings hit over .400 since hitting .432 against Seattle on Oct. 7, 2010.
Three Over .500
Three Vikings hit over .500 with 10 kills each in their season-opening sweep of Gonzaga. Senior OH Kaeli Patton hit .524 with 13 kills, senior OH Aubrey Mitchell hit .600 with 11 kills, and senior OH Jaklyn Wheeler hit .615 with 10 kills.
Spreading it Around
A different Viking led the team in kills in each of their first three matches of the season. Senior OH Kaeli Patton led with a then-career-high 14 kills against Gonzaga, senior OH Jaklyn Wheeler led with seven against No. 5 Washington, and junior OH Cheyne Corrado led with 14 against Boise State.
Week 1 – Northwest Challenge
The Vikings went 2-1 to open the season after hosting the Northwest Challenge. They opened with a straight sets win over Gonzaga (25-17, 25-19, 25-13). PSU then fell to No. 5 Washington in straight sets (22-25, 17-25, 10-25). A sweep of Boise State wrapped up the weekend for Portland State. The Vikings defeated the Broncos 25-15, 27- 25, and 25-16.
Week 2 – Midweek at Oregon and the PSU Volleyball Tournament
The Vikings fell in straight sets to No. 12 Oregon. After Oregon took the first set 25-10, the Vikings had set point in the second but could not finish out the set losing 28-26. Oregon took the final set 25-14 to complete the sweep. Senior OH Kaeli Patton led the Vikings with seven kills. She also racked up a career-high 18 digs along the way.
   Portland State went 1-2 at the 2013 Portland State Volleyball Tournament. The Vikings opened the weekend with a straight set loss to No. 25 BYU. They took the first set against Oklahoma before dropping the final three, falling to the Sooners in four sets. Senior OH Kaeli Patton posted the Vikings' first double-double of the season with a career-high 17 kills and 10 digs. Portland State took the first two sets against their final opponent of the weekend, Pacific. The Tigers then took the next two, forcing a fifth set. The Vikings came back to win the fifth set 17-15 and take the match. Three Vikings, Kaeli Patton, Cheyne Corrado, and Garyn Schlatter, all recorded double-doubles against Pacific.
Last Season
PSU finished the 2012 campaign with a 21-11 overall record and a 17-3 conference record winning the regular season title. The Vikings made a quick exit in the Big Sky Tournament, falling in straight sets to Northern Colorado in the semifinals.
Experience
The Vikings enter the season with an extremely experienced squad. Twelve of the 14 student-athletes on the roster are upperclassmen (six seniors, six juniors).
Strong Defense
Head Coach Michael Seemann and the Vikings have prided themselves in their defensive play over the years. In the first six seasons under Seemann, opponents hit just .164. PSU has led the Big Sky in opponent hitting percentage four of the six years.
Trio of Tournaments
Portland State will host three tournaments in 2013: two non-conference tournaments to start the season and the Big Sky Tournament in November. It is the first time since 2003 that the Vikings have hosted two non-conference tournaments.
Making Her Mark
Kasimira "Kasi" Clark made her mark on the Portland State records book in 2012 by setting the school's all-time single-season digs mark with 635. Her record propelled her into being named the conference's Libero of the Year.
Newcomer Back for More
Senior OH Jaklyn Wheeler was named the Big Sky's Top Newcomer in 2012 after leading the Vikings with 423 kills for the season. Wheeler transferred from Oregon prior to the 2012 season. Wheeler is also coming off of a season-ending knee injury in the Vikings' final regular season of 2012.
