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Next Up
The Vikings are back in action this Friday and Saturday when they host their second weekend tournament to start the 2013 season. They welcome BYU, Oklahoma, and Pacific to the Peter W. Stott Center. PSU opens its weekend with BYU Friday at 6 p.m.
Live Stats
Live stats will be available for all six matches this weekend. Links can be found on the PSU volleyball schedule page at GoViks.com.
Live Video
A live video stream will be available for all Portland State matches at WatchBigSky.com. A free account is required to view. Teri Mariani will be calling the action for the first time this season.
Last Time Out
The Vikings struggled their last time on the court falling in straight sets to No. 12 Oregon Tuesday night at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. 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.
Looking at No. 25 BYU
The Cougars come into action Friday with a 2-2 record on the season. They opened the season with a four-set loss to Creighton at the Hampton Inn Invitational hosted by Bowling Green. BYU won its first match of the season with a five-set win against Marquette. The Cougars then lost to host Bowling Green in five sets. They evened their record with a four-set victory over Utah Valley Tuesday night in Orem, UT. Alexa Gray leads the way for the Cougars with 64 kills (3.56 kps). Camry Godfrey is averaging 10.33 aps to lead the team while Amy Boswell leads the team with 23 blocks (1-22). BYU is hitting .229 as a team while their opponents are hitting .225.
Looking at Oklahoma
The Sooners enter as the only undefeated team in the tournament at 4-0. They have dropped only one set on the season which came against Northwestern. They have straight set wins over Milwaukee, Western Michigan, and Arkansas. Sallie McLaurin leads the team with 54 kills (4.15 kps) and a .436 hitting percentage. She also has a team-best 14 blocks (2-12). The Sooners are hitting .280 as a team while holding their opponents to a .161 average.
Looking at Pacific
The Tigers enter with a 3-2 record after taking 3-of-4 on the opening weekend and falling to Stanford in straight sets. All five matches this season have gone only three sets. Pacific opened with a win over St. Francis (Pa.) where it hit .470 (38-7-66). The Tigers then lost to Virginia Tech before wrapping up the opening weekend with wins over Towson and Michigan State. Kat Schulz leads the team with 46 kills (3.07 kps) but is hitting .192. She also has 46 digs (3.07 dps), second on the team. Two players are tied with 19 blocks each while Kimmy Whitson leads the team with 85 assists (5.67 aps).
All-Time Series Marks
Portland State holds a 3-2 all-time series mark against BYU. BYU took the last meeting in 2012 in straight sets. It was the first time the teams had met since 1984. Portland State has never faced Oklahoma in volleyball. Pacific holds a 3-2 all-time series mark against Portland State. The Vikings took two of the first three meetings but the Tigers have won the last two, winning in five sets in 2007 and in straight sets in 2012.
Next Up
Following action this weekend, the Vikings will head to the Aloha State to play three matches as part of the Verizon Volleyball Challenge, Sept. 12-14, hosted by the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. The Vikings will take on No. 9 Hawaii before facing their third Pacific-12 Conference opponent of the season in Arizona. PSU wraps up the tournament with Northwestern.
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 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.Â
Block Party
The Vikings opened the season with six blocks against Gonzaga before recording a season-high nine (2-14) blocks against Washington. They finished the opening weekend with seven against Boise State. Junior MB Leigh-Ann Haataja leads the team with 17 blocks (1.17 bps). She has four solo blocks on the season. Fellow junior MB Katie O'Brien is next on the team with 12 blocks (1.00 bps).
Home Sweet Home
Portland State has fared well at the Peter W. Stott Center under head coach Michael Seemann. The Vikings are 62-12 overall under Seemann at home and 46-4 in Big Sky play. They went 10-2 at home in 2012.
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.
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.
Big Sky Tournament
By virtue of winning the conference regular season title in 2012, the Vikings will host the Big Sky Tournament Nov. 29-30 at the Peter W. Stott Center.
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.Â
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.Â
