FIRST SERVE

Portland State volleyball fans have to feel like parents dropping their kids off at college. You've done what you can for them, but it's now up to them to blossom and flourish away from home.
 
The Portland State volleyball team hits the road this weekend for the San Diego State Invitational, where they'll hope to find the breakthrough that eluded them at home. The Vikings open the tournament against Tulane Thursday (3 p.m. start), then face San Diego State Friday (6 p.m.) and DePaul Saturday (12 p.m.).
 
The Vikings will be coming off an 0-3 weekend at their home tournament, the Rose City Showdown presented by Hotel Vance. That record doesn't reflect the improvements the Vikings showed from match to match, however. In particular, you could see a clear upward trajectory in how the Vikings played at the net. On Friday, in the Vikings' season opener, San Francisco out-blocked the Vikings 11.0-to-2.0. But over the next two matches, the Vikings out-blocked Cal 9.0-to-7.0, then out-blocked Nevada 13.0-to-11.0.
 
The strength at the net helped the Vikings' back row find its footing. After combining for only 72 digs over their first two matches of the season (44 on Friday, 28 on Saturday), the Vikings recorded 78 digs against Nevada on Sunday. Paige Stepaniuk and Carisa Barron both led the Vikings with 21 digs each, becoming the first teammates to record 20+ digs in the same match since Ellie Snook (21) and Makayla Lewis (20) against Sacramento State on Nov. 18, 2021.
 
The effect on their opponents' hitting percentage was clear. After Cal hit .337 against the Vikings on Saturday, the Vikings held Nevada to just .181 hitting on Sunday. The Wolf Pack didn't hit above .178 in any set until the fifth set, which the Vikings played without middle blocker Taylor Hunter after she suffered an injury in the fourth.
 
A similar trajectory came from the service line. Against San Francisco Friday, the Vikings recorded only one ace. But on Saturday, they recorded six aces against Cal, then posted nine against Nevada on Sunday. Delaney Nicoll tied her career high with four aces during the Vikings' match against Nevada when she had a run of three aces in a row towards the end of the third set.
 
Offensively, the Vikings went from hitting .026 Friday night against San Francisco, to topping .200 against both Cal (.221) and Nevada (.207). Part of that was finding what the Vikings had in their middle blockers. Hunter and Naomi White went from combining for 12 kills on Friday to 28 Sunday when they hit .500 between them. The 28 kills were more kills than the Vikings' middles had recorded in any match last season. White finished with a team-high 15 kills on .519 hitting (both career highs) while Hunter recorded 13 kills on .478 hitting before her injury in the fourth set.
 
Hunter's injury likely prevented the Vikings from getting their first win Sunday. The Vikings were rolling at the time, having taken the second set behind a late 4-0 run, then cruising in a third set in which they recorded 14 kills on a season-high .433 hitting percentage. Hunter then led the Vikings to an early 10-5 lead as she recorded five straight kills as part of a 7-0 PSU run. But three points later, she went down with her injury and Nevada completed the comeback.
 
So, the Vikings will have to look for their breakthrough on the road. None of the teams attending the San Diego State Invitational will want to give it to them, of course. Tulane (1-2), San Diego State (2-1) and DePaul (3-0) all got their first wins of the season last week.
 
For Tulane, their win came over UC Irvine, which they beat in five sets at the Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. American Athletic Conference coaches picked the Green Wave to finish 12th out of 13 teams in the conference this season. But the Green Wave brought in some talent to counter that perception. Sami Jacobs, a transfer from Alabama, led Tulane through the first weekend, recording 3.23 kills per set on a conference-leading 10.23 attacks per set. The Green Wave also return last year's AAC Freshman of the Year in Avery Burks, who averaged 3.29 kills per set a year ago.
 
San Diego State, meanwhile, heads into its role as host after going 2-1 at Idaho State's home tournament last weekend. The Aztecs swept Idaho State and Seattle U for their two wins while losing to CSUN in five sets.
 
The Aztecs put up impressive numbers while going 2-1 at the Idaho State tournament. After the opening weekend of the season, they lead the Mountain West Conference in kills (14.5), assists (13.5) and blocks per set (3.00) while ranking second in hitting percentage (.269). Individually, Taylor Underwood and Shea Rubright lead the team with 3.27 and 2.91 kills per set, respectively, which rank them eighth and 11th in the Mountain West. Those two, along with libero Gianna Bender, all made the Idaho State All-Tournament Team last weekend.
 
Nobody heading to San Diego this weekend had a better opening weekend than DePaul, however. The Blue Demons went 3-0 at the Bradley Tournament in Peoria, Ill. Jill Pressly and Rachel Krasowski led the Blue Demons to the weekend sweep, which in turn earned them a sweep of the first BIG EAST Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors of the season. Pressly earned the offensive honor after posting a double-double in all three matches while averaging 4.23 kills and 2.46 digs per set. Krasowski, meanwhile, averaged 6.23 digs per set at the opening tournament, an average that gives her the early lead within the BIG EAST Conference and ranks her fourth nationally.
 
It won't be easy for the Vikings to find their breakthrough, then. But that's what you want when you send your kid off to college. You want them to be challenged, so when things click for them, they have the sense of pride for having earned it.
 
Even if it's hard to see them go (**sniffles**).
 

MATCH #4: PORTLAND STATE (0-3) vs. TULANE (1-2)

LIVE STATS
DETAILS: Thursday, Sept. 5, 3 p.m. PT, San Diego, Calif. (Aztec Court at Peterson Gym)
SCOUTING TULANE: The Tulane Green Wave opened their season at the Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., last weekend. They went 1-2 at the tournament, beating UC Irvine in five sets in the later of their two matches Friday, while losing in four sets to New Mexico and North Dakota. Heading into the season, coaches within the American Athletic Conference picked Tulane to finish 12th out of 13 teams in the conference this season. Sophomore Avery Burks was named to the AAC Preseason All-Conference Team after she was named the AAC Freshman of the Year last season. Burks earned that honor after averaging 3.29 kills per set as a freshman last season. So far this season, though, it's been Sami Jacobs leading the attack for the Green Wave as she leads the AAC with 10.23 attacks per set after the opening weekend. Jacobs also ranks seventh in the AAC with 3.23 kills per set, while no other Tulane player averages more than two kills per set. Jacob is a newcomer for the Green Wave this season, transferring in from Alabama where she played the previous three seasons. Besides Jacobs, Sabrina Skyers ranks second on the team with 1.85 kills per set, which have come on .388 hitting. Juliet Galla also leads the Green Wave while ranking fourth in the AAC with 0.56 aces per set. Defensively, Jacobs also leads the Green Wave with 3.00 digs per set, while Annabelle He ranks second behind her with 2.69. Skyers leads the Green Wave at the net with 0.92 blocks per set, while Jordan White ranks second behind her with 0.85.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Thursday's match will be the first-ever meeting between Portland State and Tulane.
 

MATCH #5: PORTLAND STATE (0-3) vs. SAN DIEGO STATE (2-1)

LIVE STATS
DETAILS: Friday, Sept. 6, 6 p.m. PT, San Diego, Calif. (Aztec Court at Peterson Gym)
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO STATE: The San Diego State Aztecs traveled to another Big Sky school for the opening weekend of the season, heading up to Idaho State for the Bengals' home tournament. The Aztecs went 2-1 at the tournament, sweeping Idaho State and Seattle U while losing in five sets to CSUN. The Aztecs put up impressive numbers at the tournament. After the opening weekend of the season, they lead the Mountain West Conference in kills (14.5), assists (13.5) and blocks per set (3.00) while ranking second in hitting percentage (.269). Individually, Taylor Underwood and Shea Rubright lead the team with 3.27 and 2.91 kills per set, respectively, which rank them eighth and 11th in the Mountain West. Talea Mitchell is averaging 4.00 kills per set, but only played in four sets last weekend and so doesn't qualify for the rankings. Rubright leads the Mountain West with a .483 hitting percentage, while she also ranks third in the conference with 0.55 aces per set. Defensively, Gianna Bender leads the Aztecs with 3.64 digs per set. At the net, Amber Keen, Rubright and Underwood all average more than a block per set. Keen ranks seventh in the Mountain West with 1.25 blocks per set, while Rubright and Underwood rank 11th and 15th with 1.18 and 1.09 blocks per set, respectively. Mitchell, again, doesn't meet the minimum to be ranked but is averaging 1.50 blocks per set in her four sets played so far this season. Mountain West Conference coaches picked the Aztecs to finish seventh out of 11 teams this season. Underwood was named to the seven-member Mountain West preseason team. Underwood, Rubright and Bender were all named to the All-Idaho State Tournament Team following last weekend.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Aztecs lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 4-1. The Vikings earned their first win over the Aztecs last season when they swept them at the 2023 version of the Rose City Showdown presented by Hotel Vance. The Aztecs' last win in the series came on Aug. 26, 2017, when they swept the Vikings in San Diego.
 

MATCH #6: PORTLAND STATE (0-3) vs. DEPAUL (3-0)

LIVE STATS
DETAILS: Saturday, Sept. 7, 12 p.m. PT, San Diego, Calif. (Aztec Court at Peterson Gym)
SCOUTING DEPAUL: The DePaul Blue Demons swept their three matches at the Bradley Tournament in Peoria, Ill., over the opening weekend of the season. DePaul swept St. Thomas on the middle day of the tournament, while beating Southern Indiana and host Bradley in five sets on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Jill Pressly and Rachel Krasowski swept the first BIG EAST Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors as a result of the 3-0 weekend. Pressly earned the offensive honor after posting a double-double in all three matches while averaging 4.23 kills per set and 2.46 digs per set. Krasowski, meanwhile, averaged 6.23 digs per set over the opening weekend of the season, an average that gives her the early lead within the BIG EAST Conference and ranks her fourth nationally. That's the same rankings for DePaul as a team as they lead the BIG EAST and rank fourth nationally with 19.0 digs per set. The Blue Demons also rank third in the BIG EAST and 77th nationally with 1.92 aces per set. Individually, Pressly leads the conference and ranks 50th nationally with her 4.23 kills per set. Audrey Klemp ranks second to her with 2.69 kills per set, an average that ranks her 15th in the conference. DePaul's strong start shouldn't come as a surprise. They made the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship last season after going 18-15 overall. BIG EAST coaches picked DePaul to finish fourth in the conference this season, while Pressly and Krasowski both made the All-BIG EAST preseason team.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Vikings and Blue Demons have met only once before in the history of their programs. That meeting came on Sept. 3, 2016, with the Vikings winning, 3-1, at a tournament hosted by Fresno State.
 

STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS

• The Vikings went 0-3 at their home tournament, the Rose City Showdown presented by Hotel Vance, last weekend. The Vikings lost in three sets to San Francisco and Cal, then fell in five sets to Nevada.
• The Vikings led Nevada two sets to one and 11-7 in the fourth set Sunday when middle blocker Taylor Hunter – who had 13 kills on .478 hitting to that point in the match – went down with a knee injury.
• Naomi White and Taylor Hunter combined for 28 kills on .500 hitting in the Vikings' match against Nevada. The 28 kills were more than the Vikings got from their middle blockers in any match last season even despite Hunter leaving the match early.
• Makayla Lewis reached 1,000 career kills in Sunday's match against Nevada. She leads the Vikings with 2.64 kills per set so far this season despite coming off an ACL injury that kept her out last season.
• The Vikings held Nevada to .181 hitting Sunday after San Francisco (.235) and Cal (.337) both hit over .200 against them the previous two days. Defense has been a point of emphasis for the Vikings this season after opponents hit .218 against them last season, which was the highest mark against the Vikings since 2018.
• The Vikings got better at the net with each match last weekend. San Francisco out-blocked them 11.0-to-2.0 Friday, but the Vikings bounced back to out-block Cal (9.0-to-7.0) and Nevada (13.0-to-11.0).
• The Vikings had some tough luck in tight sets last weekend. Out of the nine sets they lost, four of them were decided by two points.
• Middle blockers Taylor Hunter and Naomi White rank fourth and fifth in the Big Sky, respectively, with hitting percentages of .381 and .359. White led the Vikings with 15 kills on .519 hitting Sunday against Nevada, with both figures representing career highs.
• Setter Ella Hartford ranks second in the Big Sky and 72nd nationally with 9.45 assists per set.
• Taylor Hunter ranks ninth in the Big Sky and 81st nationally with 1.33 blocks per set.
• Three different Vikings rank in the top 10 for digs per set between Paige Stepaniuk (5th, 3.36 d/s), Carisa Barron (7th, 3.18 d/s) and Delaney Nicoll (T-10th, 2.91 d/s).
• The Vikings were picked to finish fifth this season in the Big Sky coaches preseason poll.Four different teams received first-place votes in the poll with Weber State, Montana State and Sacramento State being a clear top three.
• The Vikings have had some tough luck with injuries so far this season. Not only did Taylor Hunter go down during their match against Nevada, but the Vikings were already without freshman setter Allison Panter, who figured to split duties with Ella Hartford in the Vikings' 6-2 formation before injuring her ankle on the second day of fall camp. The return dates for Panter and Hunter are still to be determined.
• The Vikings have several players in new positions this season. Carisa Barron came in as a setter/right side but has been playing on the left during fall camp. Delaney Nicoll played on the right last season but has moved back to the left side where she played at Idaho. Cali-Jo Shigemasa came in as a freshman libero/defensive specialist but has filled in at setter through fall camp after classmate Allison Panter went down with an ankle injury on the second day of fall camp.
• The Vikings need to replace five starters while integrating seven newcomers this season. Ella Hartford (setter) and Paige Stepaniuk (libero) are the two returning starters from a year ago. Makayla Lewis (outside) was a starter two years ago but suffered an ACL tear during the opening match of last season and has been recovering from that injury since then.
• Out of the Vikings' seven newcomers, the Vikings have four transfers and three freshmen. Five of the seven newcomers joined the Vikings ahead of their spring season between the team's four transfers – Carisa Barron (CSUN), Taylor Hunter (CSUN), Tyra Schaub (Gonzaga) and Sydney Stenson (UNLV) – and one freshman, Allison Panter. The other two freshmen – Cali-Jo Shigemasa and Reese Biesmeyer – joined the Vikings in the fall.
• All full-time coaches on the Vikings' coaching staff are Portland State alums. Head coach Michael Seemann graduated in 1999. Assistant coaches Diana Villalpando and Pati Anae both played for Seemann while graduating in 2011 and 2017, respectively. Volunteer assistant coach Duke Robins is the lone non-PSU alum on staff.
• This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Portland State volleyball program's first of four NCAA Division II national titles. The Vikings broke through in 1984, then defended their title in 1985. Those teams will be inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame at a ceremony on Oct. 29.

 

UPWARD TRAJECTORY

The Vikings didn't get a win last weekend, but the upward trajectory within the team's performances was still clear. The Vikings improved match-to-match-to-match in both blocking (2.0 team blocks Friday, 9.0 Saturday, 13.0 Sunday) and serving (one ace Friday, six Saturday, nine Sunday). Additionally, there were improvements from one match to another. Cal hit .337 against the Vikings on Saturday, for instance, but the Vikings bounced back to hold Nevada to a season-low .181 hitting the next day. Additionally, the Vikings recorded more digs (78) Sunday than they had in the first two matches combined (72 – 44 Friday, 28 Saturday).
 

VERSATILITY REQUIRED

A hallmark of the Vikings' teams under head coach Michael Seemann has been their versatility. The program will need that this season more than ever as the Vikings have shifted people around within their starting rotations. Carisa Barron played as a setter/right side hitter during three years at CSUN but has moved over to the left through the early part of fall camp. Delaney Nicoll, meanwhile, played on the right side for the Vikings last season, but has also shifted over to the left during fall camp. Freshman Cali-Jo Shigemasa had the most dramatic shift, coming in initially as a libero/defensive specialist, but has played as the second setter when the Vikings play in a 6-2 formation due to classmate Allison Panter's injury on the second day of fall camp. Outside of the new positions, the Vikings also played four different players on the right side during their exhibition against Central Washington. Barron and Nicoll spent time on the right along with newcomer Sydney Stenson and sophomore Devon DeNecochea. Seemann has said he'll continue to tinker with the team's lineup through preseason as the Vikings look to solidify their rotations ahead of Big Sky Conference play.
 

GETTING DEFENSIVE

The major point of emphasis throughout fall camp for the Vikings was passing. Particularly on first contact. Through a weekend of play, the Vikings seemed to get better in that regard, especially on Sunday against Nevada. After combining for only 72 digs through their first two matches (44 Friday, 28 Saturday), the Vikings recorded 78 Sunday, which allowed them to hold Nevada to .181 hitting in the match. Additionally, the Vikings helped out their passers by getting tougher at the net. After only recording two blocks in their opening match as San Francisco out-blocked them 11.0-to-2.0, the Vikings responded by out-blocking Cal (9.0-to-7.0) and Nevada (13.0-to-11.0). Taylor Hunter led the effort at the net with 12 blocks combined between the matches against Cal and Nevada. She now ranks ninth in the Big Sky and 91st nationally with 1.33 blocks per set. In the back row, three different Vikings rank in the top 10 of the Big Sky Conference for digs per set between Paige Stepaniuk (5th, 3.36 d/s), Carisa Barron (7th, 3.18 d/s) and Delaney Nicoll (T-10th, 2.91 d/s). Stepaniuk and Barron tied for the team lead with 21 digs against Nevada, making them the first teammates to record 20+ digs in the same match since Ellie Snook (21) and Makayla Lewis (20) did it against Sacramento State on Nov. 18, 2021.
 

STRENGTH AT THE NET

Taylor Hunter's injury during the Vikings' match against Nevada on Sunday put a damper on what was otherwise a coming out party for the Vikings' middle blockers. Hunter (despite her injury) and fellow middle blocker Naomi White combined for 28 kills on .500 hitting against Nevada. That's more kills from their middle blockers than the Vikings got in any match last season. White led the Vikings with 15 kills on .519 hitting individually, setting career highs in both categories. Hunter and White now rank fourth and fifth in the Big Sky, respectively, with hitting percentages of .381 and .359. Freshman Reese Biesmeyer showed some good flashes as well in her time replacing Hunter. She recorded an ace a few points after Hunter's injury against Nevada and recorded four blocks across the four sets she played last weekend.
 

PIN HITTERS

The Vikings' strength from the middle opened things up for their pin hitters, who found their groove after a tough opening match. The Vikings were error-prone against San Francisco, hitting just .026 for the match after committing 16 attack errors in the opening set, but things got better from there. Makayla Lewis and Delaney Nicoll both responded with double-figure kills against Cal the next day. After both hit in the negative against USF, Lewis bounced back with 11 kills on .188 hitting against Cal, while Nicoll recorded 10 kills on .381 hitting. Lewis followed up with 14 kills to go with 11 digs and two blocks Sunday against Nevada.
 

RETURN OF THE MAK

Sixth-year senior Makayla Lewis made history on the opening weekend of the season. With her first call of Sunday's match against Nevada, Lewis reached 1,000 kills in her collegiate career. It was a triumphant return for Lewis, who was poised for a big year last season before going down with an ACL injury during the team's opening match of the season. The fact that Lewis opted to come back to Portland State after that injury is a credit to her perseverance, a quality that has her on the verge of making other history as well. She is poised to move up the career rankings for double-doubles, having recorded the 27th of her PSU career Sunday to take sole possession of 10th all-time. She needs only two more to move into a tie for seventh, four more to tie for sixth. Additionally, she currently ranks in three other career top 10s at Portland State during the program's Division I era. She stands sixth in kills per set (3.34), seventh in points per set (3.79) and tied for 10th in digs per set (2.66). Also, in addition to her 1,000 career kills, Lewis needs only 154 digs to reach the 1k mark in that category as well. That would put her in the exclusive 1,000 kills, 1,000 digs club.
 

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Sept. 1, 2024, Nevada 3, Portland State 2: Makayla Lewis reached 1,000 kills in her collegiate career with her first kill of the match. Additionally, the Vikings got 28 kills on .500 hitting from middle blockers Naomi White and Taylor Hunter – more kills than they got from their middles in any match last season.