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First Serve: The Portland State Vikings (8-18 overall, 6-8 Big Sky Conference) will jockey for Big Sky Tournament seeding this week as they close out the regular season at home. They begin the week with the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (13-13, 5-9) on Thursday, Nov. 13 followed by the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (19-6, 10-4) on Saturday, Nov. 15. Both matches will be 7 p.m. starts at the Peter W. Stott Center. Saturday will be Senior Day. 

Live Coverage: Both matches will feature a live video stream which can be found at WatchBigSky.com. Live stats will also be available for both matches. Links for both can be found on the volleyball schedule page at GoViks.com.

Last Time Out: The Vikings split a pair of Big Sky road matches last week falling in four sets at Idaho State (11/6) and winning in straight sets at Weber State (11/8). Senior OH Cheyne Corrado came back after missing two matches due to an injury and recorded a double-double (10 kills, 13 digs) against the Bengals. Senior OH Leigh-Ann Haataja added 10 kills and three blocks. Haataja posted six kills and six blocks (0-6) in the Vikings' sweep of Weber State. Senior MB Katie O'Brien added seven kills and six blocks (0-6). Portland State hit .244 (39-15-100) and held Weber State to a .111 (35-24-99) hitting mark for the contest. The Vikings also tallied 10.0 blocks as a team and four aces. 

The Opposition: Portland State lost on the road to both Southern Utah and Northern Arizona earlier this season. It was the first loss by the Vikings to the Thunderbirds in their brief history. Portland State is now 4-1 all-time against Southern Utah and is a perfect 2-0 at the Peter W. Stott Center. Portland State leads Northern Arizona 19-18 all-time dating back to 1996 when the Vikings joined the Big Sky. PSU is 12-6 at home in the series and 10-0 in its last 10 home matches in the series. 

The Thunderbirds: Southern Utah comes into the week one match behind the Vikings in the Big Sky Conference standings with a 5-9 record. The T-Birds are 13-13 overall. SUU has had to run the gauntlet as of late and is on a three-match losing streak falling to Idaho State, Idaho, and Northern Arizona. 
     Southern Utah is hitting .201 on the season through 26 matches. The Thunderbirds are holding their opponents to a .168 hitting mark this season, third best in the conference. They are second in the conference with 16.52 digs and 1.43 aces per set. SUU's 2.26 blocks per set mark is fourth in the league.
     Southern Utah has two players in the top 10 in kills per set in the league led by junior OH Madi Forsythe's 3.10 kps mark. She is tied for second on the team with 26 service aces and averages 1.66 digs per set. Freshman OH Remo Gaogao averages 3.03 kills per set and also has 26 aces on the season. She is averaging 3.08 digs per set, second on the team. 
     Senior S Faith Ma'afala is fourth in the league with 10.62 assists per set and is ninth with 0.27 aces per set. Sophomore L Sariah Pelaez leads the league with 525 digs on the season and a 5.30 digs per set mark. Pelaez has posted four 30-digs matches this season, most in the league. 

Last Time Against SUU: Southern Utah took a match from Portland State for the first time on Sept. 27 in four sets by scores of 25-22, 25-21, 18-25, and 25-22. The T-Birds narrowly out-hit the Vikings .140-to-.121 in the match. Cheyne Corrado led the Vikings with 15 kills and 13 digs. Leigh-Ann Haataja added 13 kills. Portland State had five players with double-figure digs but were out-dug 92-to-77. Southern Utah had four players with double-figure kills. 

The Lumberjacks: Northern Arizona enters the week in second place in the Big Sky South with a 10-4 conference mark. The Lumberjacks are 19-6 overall and play at Sacramento State Thursday night before ending the regular season against the Vikings. Northern Arizona is one of five teams to have clinched a Big Sky Tournament bid. NAU is on a three-match winning streak with wins over Weber State, Eastern Washington, and Southern Utah; all teams with sub-.500 records in conference play. 
     Northern Arizona leads the conference in hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage with marks of .259 and .151 respectively. The Lumberjacks also lead the league with 12.85 assists and 2.80 blocks per set. They are second in the league with 13.61 kills per set and third with 16.23 digs per set. 
     Senior OH Sydney Kemper leads the team with 3.41 kills per set, third in the league. Kemper is hitting .316 on the season, eight best in the league. Junior OH Janae Vander Ploeg is right behind with 3.16 kills per set. Junior MB Payton Bock is third in the league with 1.27 blocks per set. She is also hitting .330 on the season. Senior MB Taylor Stephens leads the team with a .332 hitting mark. She is averaging 1.64 kills and 1.04 blocks per set. Sophomore S Jensen Barton is second in the league with 10.76 assists per set and third in the league with 0.35 aces per set. Senior L Stacia Williams is fourth in the league with 4.13 digs per set. 

Last Time Against NAU: The Vikings opened their Big Sky Conference slate with a four-set loss at Northern Arizona on Sept. 25 by scores of 25-21, 25-16, 28-26, and 25-22. Cheyne Corrado led the Vikings with 18 kills and 12 digs and hit .295 in the match. The Vikings did not have an answer for Janae Vander Ploeg who recorded a match-high 20 kills and hit .271 (20-4-59). She also added 14 digs as NAU had five players with double-digit digs. The Vikings struggled offensively in the first two sets but hit over .300 in the last two. The Lumberjacks out-hit the Vikings .255-to-.202 for the match. 

Up Next: If the Vikings can punch their ticket to the Big Sky Tournament this week, they will play in Pocatello, Idaho next week. Idaho State is slated to host the conference tournament after securing the regular season title. The Tournament begins with four quarterfinal matches on Thursday, Nov. 20 followed by the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 21. The championship match will be Saturday, Nov. 22. All times are TBD at this point. 

Senior Day: Kasimira "Kasi" Clark, Cheyne Corrado, Anna DeMots, Leigh-Ann Haataja, and Katie O'Brien will all take part in the final home match of their careers Saturady against Northern Arizona. All five have played a pivotal role in the Vikings success over the past four years. This senior class has gone 68-55 overall and 52-18 in their four years on the Park Blocks. They are 35-13 at home overall and 29-5 in conference home matches. 
  
Playoff Picture: Idaho State (13-1) secured the best record in the conference last week and will host the 2014 Big Sky Tournament Nov. 20-22 in Pocatello, Idaho after winning the Big Sky South.  
     The winner of the Big Sky North would get the No. 2 seed. Currently it is a two-way tie for first in the North between North Dakota and Idaho 11-3 records. Seeds 3-8 would go to the teams with the next best winning percentages regardless of division. Northern Colorado (10-4) and Northern Arizona (10-4) have each punched their tickets to the tournament. 
     Montana (6-8) and Portland State (6-8) are both are masters of their own destiny but have yet to secure a tournament spot. Montana holds the tiebreaker over Portland State after taking the only match-up between the two this season. Southern Utah (5-9) is currently the eighth team but is tied with Eastern Washington (5-9). The Eagles would be the first team out if the season ended today due to tiebreakers. 

Magic Number: The magic number for the Vikings is one. One Portland State win or one Eastern Washington loss secures a tournament spot for the Vikings. Eastern Washington would have to finish a match ahead of Portland State in the final standings to make it into the tournament after PSU took the only meeting of the season to secure the tiebreaker. EWU would have to go 2-0 with PSU going 0-2 for that to happen. 

Getting Cheyne Back: After missing two matches due to injury senior OH Cheyne Corrado returned to the lineup last week on the road and made an immediate impact. She posted her eighth double-double of the season at Idaho State (11/6) with 10 kills and 13 digs. She added nine kills and seven digs in the Vikings' sweep of Weber State (11/8). 

Big at the Net: The Vikings averaged 2.43 blocks per set in a weekend slit of Idaho State (11/6) and Weber State (11/8). Senior MB Katie O'Brien led the way with 1.57 bps after tallying 11 total blocks (2-9) in the two matches. Senior OH Leigh-Ann Haataja added 1.29 bps (0-9). 

Clark the Record Setter : Senior L Kasimira "Kasi" Clark entered the season seventh on Portland State's all-time career digs list and 373 digs away form Eavi Shovlin's all-time record of 1,742. Clark methodically moved her way up the list until she sat two shy heading into the Sacramento State match on Nov. 1. Clark set the record early in the first set and went on to post 28 digs for the match. Clark has 1,802 career digs and is 15th on the NCAA DI Active Career Digs list. Clark now holds the Portland State single-season digs mark, 635 set in 2012, and the all-time career mark. Clark is also fifth all-time in Big Sky Conference history in career digs. 
 

Player Passed (Career Digs)	Date	Opponent	Digs vs. Opp.
Jessica Brodie (1,441)	9/6	Georgia Southern	14
Joy Russell (1,480)	9/12	Oklahoma	16
Cathy Kuntz (1,498)	9/15	No. 14 Oregon	20
Leanne Peters (1,571)	10/2	Weber State	20
Sarah Sirianni (1,603)	10/4	Idaho State	16
Eavi Shovlin (1,742)	11/1	Sacramento State	28

Big Time Blockers: Seniors Leigh-Ann Haataja and Katie O'Brien have been one of the most, if not the most, prolific blocking duos in Portland State history. Both surpassed the 400-career block mark this season and are ranked in the top 20 in NCAA DI active block leaders. O'Brien is 15th among active career leaders with 456 career blocks. Haataja is 18th with 447 career blocks. They are also fifth and seventh respectively on Portland State's all-time career total blocks list. The two spent their first three years as a middle blocking tandem but Haataja has been moved to the outside for her senior season.

Haataja Sets Blocking Assists Mark: Senior OH Leigh-Ann Haataja set the Portland State Division I (1996-present) Career Blocking Assists record surpassing the previous record of 400 set by Michelle Segun (Robertson) (2004-06) against Northern Colorado on Oct. 30. Haataja is now fourth on the PSU all-time blocking assists list, one shy of Kari Kockler's (1986-89) mark of 414. 

KO at the Net: Senior MB Katie O'Brien has been a force at the net for the Vikings since entering Big Sky Conference play. O'Brien is fourth in the league with 1.24 blocks per set. O'Brien posted 8.0 against Northern Arizona (9/29) and 10.0 against Idaho (10/9). She is averaging 1.67 bps over the last three matches. 

Haataja Heating Up On the Outside: Senior OH Leigh-Ann Haataja has seen her productivity increase on the outside over the last couple of weeks. She tallied a then-career-high 16 kills in the Vikings five-set loss at Montana (10/24). Haataja hit .353 (16-4-34) in the match while adding four blocks. She then added a new career-high 19 kills while hitting .386 against Sacramento State (11/1). 

Clark, LaPierre add Double-Doubles: Freshman OH Roni LaPierre and freshman S Erin Clark each posted their fifth double-doubles of the season against Sacramento State (11/1). LaPierre tallied 10 kills and a career-high 21 digs while Clark posted 42 assists and 13 digs coming off the bench. 

Corrado's Adds Another: Senior OH Cheyne Corrado posted her seventh double-double of the season with 12 kills and 10 digs in PSU's sweep of Montana State (10/25). Corrado is tied for ninth in the conference this season in double-doubles. 

Corrado's Career Day: Senior OH Cheyne Corrado had a career day at North Dakota (10/16) when she posted a career-high 23 kills and 17 digs for her team-leading sixth double-double of the season. Corrado hit .217 for the match (23-8-69) with a career-high 69 attacks. 

Corrado's Stellar Week: Senior OH Cheyne Corrado a tremendous week at North Dakota (10/16) and at Sacramento State (10/18) for the Vikings with 39 kills over the eight sets for a 4.88 kills per set mark. She also limited the attacking errors and hit .275 for the week. Corrado came up big defensively for the Vikings posting a 3.12 digs per set mark, second only to PSU's libero. A service ace and a pair of blocks for Corrado rounded out her week. Corrado posted a career-high 23 kills at North Dakota and 16 kills at Sacramento State. 

Vikings Get First Road Win: After a narrow loss at North Dakota (10/16), the Vikings broke through on the road with a three-set sweep of Sacramento State (10/18). It was the Vikings' first road win of the season and just the fourth road win in the series all-time.

Seemann Gets No. 100: Eighth-year Head Coach Michael Seeman picked up his 100th-career Big Sky Conference win in a dramatic five-set victory against Idaho on Oct. 9. It took Seemann only 125 matches to get to 100 wins going 100-25 (.800). Seemann is tops among active Big Sky coaches in career conference wins and fourth all-time in conference victories. 

Seemann Gets No. 150: Two weeks after picking up his 100th-career Big Sky Conference win, Head Coach Michael Seemann picked up his 150th-career overall win at Montana State (10/25).

Home Sweet Home: Portland State has been nearly unbeatable at the Peter W. Stott Center under Head Coach Michael Seemann, especially during Big Sky Conference play. The Vikings are 77-19 overall under Seemann at home and 59-7 in Big Sky play. They are 3-4 overall this season.

Biggest in the Sky: The Vikings are 152-146 (.510) 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 103-29 (.780) under Seemann in conference play but are even better at home going 59-7 (.894). Seemann has the most conference wins among active Big Sky coaches. 

Jackson Makes Her Mark: Prior to Portland State's match against Idaho on Oct. 9, freshman Emani Jackson had played in just one set. Jackson came in off the bench for the Vikings against the Vandals and tallied nine kills and four blocks (1-3). She hit .250 (9-4-20) on the outside. She signed with the Vikings as a middle blocker but has been moved outside as an opposite hitter. 

Miyashiro in the Mix: Sophomore S Shelbi Miyashiro was inserted into the lineup for the Vikings as they moved to a two-setter rotation against Idaho on Oct. 9. Miyashiro made the most of her first career start tallying career highs in assists (28) and digs (12) for her first career double-double. 

Winning Streak: The Vikings had their consecutive Big Sky regular season home winning streak snapped against Idaho State on Oct. 4. Prior to the loss to the Bengals, the Vikings had won 25-straight conference regular season matches at the Peter W. Stott Center, one shy of the program record of 26. 

Corrado Goes Big: Senior OH Cheyne Corrado posted a career-high 18 kills while adding 12 digs for her third double-double of the season at Northern Arizona (9/25) to open Big Sky Conference play. She then posted 15 kills and 13 digs at Southern Utah for her second straight double-double, forth of the season. She is averaging 4.12 kills per set, second in the league, during conference play so far this season. 

Liva at the Net: Freshman MB Sarah Liva had the best match of her young career at the net against Washington State (9/19). Liva posted a career-high, and team season high, 8.0 total blocks (2-6) including a career-high two solo blocks. Liva leads the team with 77 blocks on the season (0.96 blocks per set).

PSU vs. The Ranked: Over the course of the first four weeks of the season, Portland State faced three ranked opponents. The other 11 Big Sky Conference schools have combined for six matches against ranked opponents. North Dakota, Eastern Washington and Idaho State have each faced two. 

Freshmen Making Their Mark: The Vikings welcomed six true freshmen to the roster this year and they have made an immediate impact.  
• Setter Erin Clark is the first Viking to start as a setter not named Garyn Schlatter in four years and has had a great start to her career. She started the first 16 matches of the season. Clark is averaging 7.75 assists per game along with 1.84 digs per set. PSU switched to a two-setter rotation against Idaho (10/9). 
• Middle blocker Sarah Liva has improved every match for the Vikings at middle blocker. After a relatively slow start, Liva posted four blocks against No. 23 Loyola Marymount (9/18) and a career-high eight blocks against Washington State (9/19). She is averaging 1.35 kps and leads the team with 90.0 blocks. 
• Outside hitter Roni LaPierre has been one of the Vikings go-to attackers with a killer instinct on the outside. She is third on team with 2.46 kps and is averaging 1.98 dps. She has posted five double-doubles this season including against No. 14 Oregon (11 kills, 10 digs). 
• Lauren Nicholson and Tasha Bojanic have both seen time this season. Bojanic has made an impact as a defensive specialist is averaging 2.13 digs per set. Nicholson started the year as a serving specialist but has seen her time increase as an outside. She has 72 kills and 41 digs on the year along with eight aces.

Career Day for Corrado: Senior OH Cheyne Corrado put together one of her best offensive performance of her four-year career in a four-set loss at Oklahoma (9/12). Corrado posted 17 kills against the Sooners and hit .263 for the match. What pushed her performance over the top was the fact that she tallied seven aces in the match. She became just the seventh player in PSU history to tally seven or more aces in a match. It was the second best all-time for the Vikings in a four-set match.

Roni Coming Out Swinging: It did not take long for freshman OH Roni LaPierre to get her feet wet. She tallied eight kills (4-for-5 in the first set) against No. 4 Washington. She added 11 against Boise State and then 15 against Gonzaga to close out her first career weekend.

Serving it Up: The Vikings had an uncharacteristically slow start to the season at the service line tallying only seven aces over the first weekend of the season. The Vikings picked that up at the Omni Classic with 21 aces over 10 sets including a season-high 11 against Georgia Southern (9/6). Portland State got aces from six different players including three from Cheyne Corrado. Corrado added a career-high seven kills against Oklahoma (9/13).

Slow Start: After a slow start to the season, the Vikings picked up their first win of the season, a four-set win over Georgia Southern at the Omni Classic in Boulder, CO. The Vikings opened the season on a five-match losing streak, their longest to start a season since 2000.