Omni Classic (Boulder, CO)
Weekend Schedule
Fri. 7 p.m. MT vs. Colorado	Live Stats
Sat., 10 a.m. MT Pittsburgh	Live Stats
Sat., 7 p.m. MT vs. Georgia Southern	Live Stats
Player to Watch
	Roni LaPierre Freshman / Outside Hitter   LaPierre Leads the Vikings with 34 kills (3.09 kills per set) through the first three matches.
Related Links
Team Info: Schedule | Roster | News | Stats
More Coverage: Big Sky Release | Big Sky Stats

Complete Release in PDF Format

First Serve: The Portland State Vikings (0-3) open their second weekend of the 2014 season against the Colorado Buffaloes (2-1 overall) on Friday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. MT at the Omni Classic in Boulder, CO. The Vikings will also face the Pittsburgh Panthers (3-0) on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 10 a.m. MT followed by Georgia Southern (0-3) at 5:30 p.m. MT. 

Live Coverage: All three Portland State matches can be followed online via Live Stats. A live video stream will also be available for the Colorado match. Links can be found on the volleyball schedule page at GoViks.com.

The Opposition: This will be the first time the Vikings have faced any of their three opponents in the Omni Classic.  

The Buffaloes: Colorado enters the weekend 2-1 overall after falling to Northwestern in five sets, defeating Northern Illinois, and sweeping Presbyterian ... CU is hitting .267 as a team ... averaging 11.8 kills per set, 10.62 assists per set, 1.46 aces per set, 11.08 digs per set, and 1.77 blocks per set ... Taylor Simpson leads the team with 51 kills (3.92 kps) ... Simpson is second on the team with 34 digs (2.62 dps) and blocks with five.

The Panthers: Pittsburgh is 3-0 on the season after sweeping Middle Tennessee State, Dayton, and Bowling Green to open the season ... UP is hitting .307 as a team while holding opponents to a .102 percentage ... averaging 15.22 kills per set, 14.56 assists per set, 2.11 aces per set, 14.22 digs per set, and 2.00 blocks per set ... allowed opponents to score in the 20's in three of nine sets ... Jessica Wynn leads the team with 32 kills (3.56 kps) and is hitting .286 with 3.22 digs per set ... Maria Genitsaridi is second on the team with 3.22 kps.

The Eagles: Georgia Southern is winless (0-3) on the season after being swept in straight sets by Florida and losing in four sets to both Oklahoma and Idaho ... GSU is hitting just .125 on the season while opponents are hitting .262 ... won the first set in both four-set losses ... averaging 11.00 kills per set, 10.36 assists per set, 1.09 aces per set, 12.55 digs per set, and 1.82 blocks per set ... Jamie DeRatt leads the team with 32 kills (3.09 kps) ... Kym Cole has the highest hitting percentage (.370) and is averaging 2.91 kills per set. 

Thrown in the Deep End: Portland State started three true freshmen to start the season. Setter Erin Clark, outside hitter Roni LaPierre, and middle blocker Sarah Liva all picked up their first career starts in the season opener against No. 4 Washington. Fellow freshmen outside hitter Lauren Nicholson also saw her first career action at the Northwest Challenge. 

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 Washington. She added 11 against Boise State and then 15 against Gonzaga to close out her first career weekend. 

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 74-15 overall under Seemann at home and 56-4 in Big Sky play. They went 10-2 at home in 2012.

Winning Streaks: The Vikings set or matched several program winning streaks during  2013 season.  
• Portland State is riding a nine-match Big Sky regular season winning streak, tied for best all-time.
• Portland State is riding a five-match Big Sky regular season road winning streak, second all-time (6).
• Portland State is riding a 24-match Big Sky regular season home winning streak, second all-time (26). 
• Portland State won 10-straight matches in 2013 to match its Division I record.

Clark Getting Closer: Senior L Kasimira "Kasi" Clark started the season just 373 digs shy of the Portland State all-time career digs record of 1,742. Clark added 46 to her total over the course of the opening weekend to bring her career mark to 1,415. She is 26 behind Jessica Brodie for sixth on the all-time list. 

O'Brien Into the Top 10: Senior MB Katie O'Brien moved into 10th all-time at Portland State in total blocks. She has 376 blocks for her career. Teammate Leigh-Ann Haataja is just three blocks ahead in ninth place. 

Preseason Poll: The Vikings were selected to finish sixth this season in the Big Sky Conference's Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Vikings received 84 total votes with no first place votes.  

Last Season: PSU finished the 2013 campaign with a 21-11 overall record and a 17-3 conference record claiming a share of  the regular season title with North Dakota. After defeating Montana in the Big Sky Tournament, the Vikings were eliminated by Idaho State in straight sets. 

Mixed Roster: The Vikings return seven letterwinners from a year ago including five experienced seniors. They welcome six true freshmen to the roster. The Vikings will have to mix the two groups of experienced veterans and inexperienced greenhorns to be successful. 

Big Shoes to Fill: The Vikings graduated one of the best setters in program history in Garyn Schlatter in 2013. Schlatter was the starting setter for the Vikings all four years on the Park Blocks. The task of replacing Schlatter will be given to sophomore Shelbi Miyashiro and freshman Erin Clark. 

Strong Defense: Head Coach Michael Seemann and the Vikings have prided themselves in their defensive play over the years. In the first seven seasons under Seemann, opponents are hitting just .167. PSU has led the Big Sky in opponent hitting percentage four of the seven years.

Conference Realignment: The Big Sky Conference will look a little different this year. The conference welcomed Idaho into the league in July, giving it 12 member schools for volleyball. With the addition of Idaho the league will be split into two divisions with each team playing every team in division twice and the other division once. The division alignments are:
• North: Eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana, Montana State, North Dakota, Northern Colorado.
• South: Idaho State, Northern Arizona, Portland State, Sacramento State, Southern Utah, Weber State. 

Big Sky Tournament: With the addition of Idaho and the realignments of teams into divisions the Big Sky Volleyball Tournament has also seen some changes. The tournament will be played the weekend before Thanksgiving (Nov. 20-22). The 2014 Big Sky Volleyball Tournament will be hosted by the 2014 Big Sky regular season champion. The host of the conference tournament will be the team with the best overall conference record, with any ties broken by head-to-head play. The No. 2 seed will be the champion of the alternate division from the host. Seeds three through eight will be determined by overall conference won-loss record.