Match Notes (PDF)

FIRST SERVE
The Portland State volleyball team had a balanced ledger last weekend. They won a five-set match against Montana State Thursday, then dropped a five-setter to Montana Saturday. But the Vikings would love to see that balance tip towards the green this weekend, as they remain home to host Eastern Washington (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and Idaho (Saturday, 2 p.m.) at Viking Pavilion.
 
Last weekend's balance went beyond the split results. The Vikings played six two-point sets in a row between their final four sets against Montana State and the opening two sets against Montana. The Vikings hadn't played a match with four sets decided by two points since Oct. 12, 2013.
 
But the Vikings would have liked a few more imbalanced sets in their favor instead. They went 2-4 in those six two-point sets, including a 1-3 record in the four two-point sets that went past 25 points. The Vikings dropped both opening sets to Montana in extra points when a win in either set would have likely given the Vikings a four-set win over the Grizzlies rather than a five-set loss.
 
Balance was also a positive for the Vikings, though, against the Bobcats and Grizzlies. The offense played its most balanced weekend of the season. The Vikings set a season high with 78 kills against Montana State Thursday, with Alivia Eikenberg (23 kills), Tyra Schaub (20 kills) and Naomi White (16 kills) all setting career highs. Those three went into double figures again Saturday against the Grizzlies, along with Sydney Stenson who set career highs for kills (12), hitting percentage (.458), blocks (5) and points (15.0) in the match.
 
The Vikings hadn't had four players record 10+ kills in the same match at any point this season. They had only had three players record 10+ kills twice before last weekend when they did it against both the Bobcats and Grizzlies.
 
Setter Ava Blascziek led the way offensively, alternating between the Vikings' lone setter in a 5-1 and part of a rotation in a 6-2 formation. Blascziek set career highs for both assists (47) and digs (16) against the Grizzlies, surpassing the career she set with 42 assists against Montana State. Blascziek needs only 27 more assists this weekend to reach 1,000 in her collegiate career.
 
Blascziek is also one of several Vikings with an active double-double streak. She's recorded double-doubles in the Vikings' last five matches, giving her seven total this season. Eikenberg holds the longest streak, having recorded a double-double in all seven Big Sky matches so far to give her 11 for the season. She needs five more to tie Melissa Osterloh's freshman record of 16 from 2004.
 
Schaub recorded double-doubles in both matches last weekend. Her peak came against the Bobcats when she set career highs for kills (20), digs (18) and aces (4). She nearly matched that with 19 kills on .246 hitting against the Grizzlies on Saturday.
 
White may have had the best weekend of any Viking, however. She was untouchable at the start of the match against the Bobcats, recording seven kills on her first eight swings. She hit .491 between both matches, including a career high .522 with 13 kills against the Grizzlies Saturday.
 
White was also part of 12 of the Vikings' 16 blocks against both teams last weekend. The Vikings have relied heavily on White at the net since the start of Big Sky play. She's been part of 70.0 percent of the team's blocks in conference play, compared to 52.9 percent in non-conference play.
 
Getting a reliable second threat at the net for the Vikings would help balance out the team's defense.
 
Eastern Washington will bring in a strong blocking team Thursday. The Eagles rank second in the Big Sky and 76th nationally with 2.37 blocks per set. That's by far their highest statistical rank within the conference, as they rank last in all other categories after starting Big Sky play 0-7. Judith Bolomboy and Alyssa Radke rank fifth and eighth, respectively, in the Big Sky with 1.11 and 1.03 blocks per set individually.
 
Offensively, Kalista Lukovich leads the Eagles with 3.18 kills per set, ranking her eighth in the Big Sky. Camryn Hagel leads the Eagles from the service line, as she ranks eighth in the conference with 0.30 aces per set.
 
Idaho, Saturday's opponent, earned their first conference win since 2022 with a 3-0 road sweep of Eastern Washington on Oct. 3. The Vandals nearly picked up one or two upsets last weekend, too, as they pushed conference leaders Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona both to five sets. The Vandals won the first two sets against Northern Colorado Thursday, but then got reverse swept.
 
It's been an improved season for the Vandals this fall, especially on defense. They rank third in the conference and 72nd nationally with 15.04 digs per set. No individual averages more than 3.00 digs per set for the Vandals, but five different players average more than 2.00 between Kyriah Trefren (2.94 d/s), Kiana Greer (2.40 d/s), Clayton White (2.30 d/s), Aleina Manaois (2.15 d/s) and Ada Isik (2.07 d/s).
 
The Vandals also rank fifth in the conference with an opponent hitting percentage of .208.
 
Head coach Michael Seemann praised Montana's defense in beating the Vikings Saturday. Sacramento State also extended a number of rallies while beating the Vikings in four sets on Oct. 3.
 
The Vikings will have to be prepared to handle long rallies better this weekend, then. Ironically, they'll need to stay balanced, then. Even if they're trying to unbalance their wins and losses by going 2-0 against the Eagles and Vandals.
 
MATCH #19: PORTLAND STATE (7-11, 3-4) vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON (2-17, 0-7)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Thursday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON: The Eastern Washington Eagles led Montana State 2-1 at home in their conference season opener on Sept. 24 but then dropped the next two sets to fall in five. That was an unlucky start to Big Sky play for the Eagles, which has continued as they enter this week 0-7 in conference matches and 2-17 overall. One of the Eagles' two non-conference wins came over a team that beat the Vikings. The Eagles beat Seattle U in five sets at home on Sept. 18, after the Redhawks swept the Vikings in a neutral-site match on Aug. 29. The Eagles also beat Pacific (Calif.) in five sets in Reno, Nev., on Sept. 13. Statistically, the Eagles' strength is at the net. They rank second in the Big Sky and 76th nationally with 2.37 blocks per set. Judith Bolomboy and Alyssa Radke rank fifth and eighth, respectively, in the Big Sky with 1.11 and 1.03 blocks per set individually. The Eagles have struggled outside of their block, ranking last in the conference in all other statistical categories. Kalista Lukovich leads the Eagles with 3.18 kills per set, ranking her eighth in the Big Sky. Camryn Hagel leads the Eagles from the service line, as she ranks eighth in the conference with 0.30 aces per set. Elle Bruegman anchors the Eagles' back row with 3.14 digs per set, ranking her ninth in the conference.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Eagles, 37-31. The Vikings won the lone meeting between the two teams last year, beating the Eagles 3-1 at home on Halloween night. The Vikings have won four of their last six matches against the Eagles, as well as 23 of their last 28 going back to 2008. The Eagles' last win in Portland came on Nov. 12, 2022.
 
MATCH #20: PORTLAND STATE (7-11, 3-4) vs. IDAHO (4-15, 1-6)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Saturday, Oct. 25, 2 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
SCOUTING IDAHO: The Idaho Vandals broke through for their first conference win since 2022 with a 3-0 road sweep of Eastern Washington on Oct. 3. The Vandals had a pair of narrow misses last weekend, losing in five sets at home to conference leaders Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona. The Vandals won the first two sets against Northern Colorado Thursday, before losing the final three sets. Statistically, the Vandals represent a strong defensive team as they rank third in the conference and 72nd nationally with 15.04 digs per set. No individual averages more than 3.00 digs per set for the Vandals, but five different players average more than 2.00 between Kyriah Trefren (2.94 d/s), Kiana Greer (2.40 d/s), Clayton White (2.30 d/s), Aleina Manaois (2.15 d/s) and Ada Isik (2.07 d/s). The Vandals also rank fifth in the conference with an opponent hitting percentage of .208. Offensively, Greer and White rank seventh and 10th in the Big Sky with 3.23 and 3.15 kills per set, respectively. Setters Manaois and Csenge Krakoczki also rank fifth and seventh in the Big Sky with 7.27 and 6.65 assists per set, respectively. White leads the Vandals with 0.29 aces per set.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Vandals, 23-9. They've won their last six meetings against the Vandals, with Idaho's last win coming in five sets at Viking Pavilion during the 2020-21 COVID winter season.
 
QUICK HITTERS

• The Vikings split a pair of five-set matches to Montana State and Montana last weekend. They erased a match point in the fourth set against Montana State before beating the Bobcats Thursday. They erased an 0-2 deficit to force a fifth set against Montana Saturday, but then lost the final set.
• The Vikings played six straight two-point sets between their matches against Montana State and Montana. The last four sets against Montana State were all decided by four sets, as were the first two sets against Montana. The Vikings went 2-4 in those six sets. Four of the six sets also went into extra points, with the Vikings winning just one of those four. Overall this season, the Vikings are 12-12 in two-point sets and 4-5 in extra-point sets.
• The Vikings set season highs for kills (78), points (95.0), assists (74) and digs (89) against Montana State Thursday. Alivia Eikenberg (23 kills), Tyra Schaub (20 kills) and Naomi White (16 kills) all set career highs for the Vikings offensively. Paige Stepaniuk tied her career high with 30 digs.
• The Vikings hit .236 against Montana State and .246 against Montana last weekend. That was a sharp uptick from the previous week, when the Vikings hit .140 at Northern Arizona and a season-low .111 at Northern Colorado.
• The Vikings had four players record 10+ kills for the first time this season against Montana Saturday. Tyra Schaub (19 kills), Alivia Eikenberg (16 kills), Naomi White (13 kills) and Sydney Stenson (12 kills) represented the four for the Vikings. The Vikings had only had three players record 10+ kills twice before last weekend but reached that benchmark against both Montana State and Montana.
• Alivia Eikenberg recorded double-doubles in both matches last weekend, totaling 23 kills and 14 digs against Montana State, and 16 kills and 14 digs against Montana. The Viking freshman has recorded a double-double in all seven Big Sky matches this season, and has 11 double-doubles total. She needs five more to match Melissa Osterloh's freshman record of 16 from 2004. Eikenberg is also on pace for freshman records in kills and points per set.
• Naomi White recorded 10+ kills in back-to-back matches last week for only the second time in her career. She hit .467 or better in both matches, including a career-high .522 with 13 kills against Montana Saturday. White ranks seventh in the Big Sky and 99th nationally with a .347 hitting percentage this season. She also ranks fourth in the conference with 1.14 blocks per set after being part of 12 of the team's 16 blocks last weekend.
• Ava Blascziek has recorded five straight double-doubles, giving her seven total this season. Blascziek set career highs for assists (47) and digs (16) in the Vikings' match against Montana. Blascziek needs only 27 more assists to reach 1,000 in her collegiate career. She has 366 assists this season at Portland State after 607 over two years at Temple.
• The Vikings are 5-1 when winning the first set this season versus 2-10 when losing the first set. Last weekend's matches split down those lines. The Vikings won the first set, 25-17, in their five-set win over Montana State, but dropped the opener, 28-26, in their five-set loss to Montana.
• The Vikings are 3-0 within Big Sky play when their opponent hits below .200 hitting, versus 0-4 when their opponent hits above .200. The Vikings held Montana State to .197 hitting Thursday, while Montana hit .229 Saturday.
• After averaging 2.31 blocks per set during non-conference play, the Vikings are averaging just 1.43 blocks per set within Big Sky play. However, they tied their conference season high with 9.0 blocks against Montana State Thursday, then followed up with 7.0 blocks against Montana Saturday.
• The Vikings rank third in the Big Sky and 110th nationally with 1.60 aces per set as a team. Allison Panter leads the conference while also ranking 42nd nationally with 0.44 aces per set individually.
• Alivia Eikenberg heads into this week ranked third in the Big Sky in both kills (3.54) and points (3.98) per set this season. She's averaging 3.96 kills and 3.04 digs per set within Big Sky play.
• Tyra Schaub averaged 3.90 kills per set on .227 hitting last week to go with 3.10 digs per set. She's averaging career bests for kills (2.55), digs (2.28) and aces (0.20) per set while hitting a career-best .190 this season.
• Paige Stepaniuk has earned two Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honors this season. Stepaniuk heads into this week ranked fifth in the conference with 3.77 digs per set. She needs only 70 more digs to reach 1,000 in her Portland State career.
• The Vikings are 4-2 in three-set matches this season, 1-4 in four-set matches and 2-5 in five-set matches.
• Head Coach Michael Seemann described his team's approach to fall camp as, "we've given up continuity for opportunity." To that end, all 16 players saw the court during the non-conference schedule. The Vikings played 12 or more players in five of their 11 non-conference matches and played 11 in three of the other six.
• The Vikings have 11 underclassmen on their 16-player roster, while the Vikings' six true freshmen represent the program's largest freshman class since 2019. Additionally, out of the three returning starters from last season, only junior libero Paige Stepaniuk has more than a year experience starting for the Vikings.
• Naomi White was named to the inaugural Preseason All-Big Sky Conference team before the start of the season. White, who was one of three middle blockers on the 10-member team, earned the honor after a breakout 2024 season in which she ranked fifth in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.330) and ninth in blocks per set (1.04).
• The Vikings lost their top two hitters from last season – Makayla Lewis and Carisa Barron – as well as 66.5 percent of their total kills in 2024. Naomi White and Reese Biesemeyer represent the Vikings' top two returning hitters after averaging 1.96 and 1.65 kills per set, respectively.
• Head coach Michael Seemann needs 11 more wins to reach 300 in his Portland State career. Whenever he reaches the milestone, he will become the third different Portland State head women's volleyball coach to reach 300 wins. Seemann will join Marlene Piper (445 wins, program record, 1969-72 & 1974-83) and Jeff Mozzochi (317 wins, 1984-92 & 2001-06).
• Big Sky coaches picked the Vikings to finish sixth in the 10-team Big Sky Conference before the start of the season. Weber State represents the Big Sky Conference favorites, topping the preseason coaches poll with five first-place votes.