Tournament Notes (PDF)

FIRST SERVE
With the turn of the calendar to September, harvest will be a frequently used word for those in and around the Portland State volleyball program.
 
Those outside of the program may be focused on fall harvest and a trip to the pumpkin patch. Those inside the program remain focused on harvesting the full potential of their young players.
 
So, pretty much…same goals, different crops.
 
The Vikings showed their youth in their season-opening tournament at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic in both positive and negative ways. Some of the Vikings' young players absolutely shined in their first collegiate tournament, but the Vikings also lost all three matches to Jacksonville State, Seattle U and Cal Baptist.
 
They just need a little more water and time in the sun, which they'll get as the Vikings head to the Bay Area for a pair of tournaments this weekend. They'll first play at the Battle By The Bay, hosted by the University of San Francisco, Sept. 4-5, before picking up a match against Cal Baptist at the Santa Clara Mission Classic on Sept. 6.
 
The positive for the Vikings last weekend came first and foremost at the net. After having 10+ blocks in only four of their 28 matches last season, the Vikings went into double figures in two of their three matches last weekend. They recorded 12.0 blocks in their season opener against Jacksonville State Friday, then topped that with 13.0 blocks against host Air Force. The 13.0 blocks against the Falcons matched the team's season high from last season and marked their highest total in a match since they had 15.0 blocks against Montana on Oct. 21, 2023.
 
Naomi White led the way against Jacksonville, recording blocks on eight of the team's 12 in the match. She followed up with five against Air Force, but it was freshman Brenna Coffman who led the Vikings with seven individually, including three solo blocks.
 
Coffman's big match against the Falcons was one of several from the Vikings' freshmen. Besides Coffman, Alivia Eikenberg led the Vikings in kills in two of their three matches over the weekend. That included 19 kills on .286 hitting to go with six digs and three blocks in her debut match against Jacksonville State. It was the most kills by a Viking freshman in her debut since Gabby Hollins had 23 against Idaho on Jan. 24, 2021.
 
Eikenberg followed up with 16 kills on .306 hitting while nearly recording the first double-double of her career with nine digs in the Vikings' four-set loss to host Air Force Saturday.
 
Redshirt freshman Amber Walker led the Vikings against Seattle U, recording nine kills on .444 hitting.
 
Eikenberg and Walker now head into this weekend ranked in the top 10 of the Big Sky statistically. Eikenberg ranks third in the conference in both kills (3.70) and points (4.05) per set, while Walker ranks eighth in hitting percentage (.321).
 
The freshmen in general led the offense for the Vikings over the opening weekend. True or redshirt freshmen accounted for 63.8 percent of the team's total kills last weekend. Besides Eikenberg and Walker, freshman Willow Watson ranks third on the team with 19 total kills (1.58 per set) on .240 hitting.
 
The Vikings' young players will be tested again this weekend, especially in their opener Thursday against a Long Beach State team coming off a stacked home tournament this past weekend. The Beach hosted Oregon State as well as two nationally ranked teams in Stanford and UCLA, which came in ranked sixth and 19th in the AVCA Top 25, respectively. The Beach went 1-2 at the tournament, sweeping Oregon State and nearly pulling off an upset of UCLA before falling in five sets.
 
Offensively, the Beach figure to test the Vikings' strength at the net after hitting .240 across all three matches last weekend, ranking them third in the Big West Conference. Logan King ranks fourth in the conference with 3.92 kills per set. She recorded at least 13 kills in all three matches, including 17 on .419 hitting in her team's sweep of the Beavers.
 
San Francisco, Friday's opponent for the Vikings, also played a former Pac-12 program in Cal on the opening weekend of the season. The Dons went 0-2 at Cal's home tournament, losing in three sets to the Bears and San Diego State. Despite the two losses, the Dons had a strong blocking weekend as they lead the West Coast Conference with 2.67 blocks per set. Hokulani Perez and Maeve Bailey rank second and third in the WCC with 1.60 and 1.50 blocks per set individually.
 
Cal Baptist, Saturday's opponent, was also stronger on the defensive side of the net last weekend while going 1-2 at The Ridge Invitational, hosted by CSUN. The Lancers' one win came in five sets over another Big Sky Conference school in Idaho State. The Lancers out-killed (51-47) and out-aced (10-7) the Bengals, which helped them overcome major deficits in hitting percentage (ISU .204, CBU .097) and blocking (ISU 18.5, CBU 6).
 
Serving appears to be a strength for the Vikings this season, as Allison Panter leads the Big Sky Conference with 0.73 aces per set.
 
Head coach Michael Seemann said he wanted to see his serving and defense lead the team early in the season. That way the offense could grow naturally as his players grow together. To that end, he played 14 of the 15 available players last weekend, and 10 of those 14 played in at least eight of the team's 12 sets.
 
He anticipates giving playing time to a number of players again this weekend. It's what any good farmer does. Nurture the crop until its ripe and then pick the best of the bunch.
 
MATCH #4: PORTLAND STATE (0-3) vs. LONG BEACH STATE (1-2)
LIVE STATS
DETAILS: Thursday, Sept. 4, 2 p.m. PT, San Francisco, Calif. (War Memorial at The Sobrato Center)
SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE: Long Beach State opened its season at a stacked home tournament last weekend that featured Oregon State along with nationally ranked Stanford and UCLA, ranked sixth and 19th in the AVCA Top 25 at the time, respectively. The Beach lost a close match to UCLA, 3-2, in which they out-aced the Bruins 7-to-2. They lost in four sets to Stanford to open their season on Saturday, before sweeping the Beavers on Sunday. The Beach head into this weekend ranked third in the Big West Conference in hitting percentage (.240) while also ranking sixth in kills per set (12.0). Their defensive numbers are skewed due to the quality of opponents they played over the opening weekend, but they rank eighth in opponent hitting percentage (.256), ninth in blocks per set (1.96) and 10th in digs per set (11.9). Individually, Logan King ranks fourth in the Big West in both kills (3.92) and points (4.71) per set. King recorded at least 13 kills in all three matches last weekend while hitting over .200 in all three as well. Her 17 kills on .419 hitting led the Beach to their 3-0 sweep of the Beavers. Outside of King, Elise Agi ranks second on the team with 2.58 kills per set, while Anabel Kotzakov ranks third with 2.45. King and Elise also rank first and second on the team with four and three service aces, respectively. Setter Madi Maxwell ranks seventh in the Big West with 8.42 assists per set, while she also leads the Beach with 2.92 digs per set. The Beach came into the season picked to finish fifth in the perennially stacked Big West Conference. Hawai'i topped the poll, edging Cal Poly even as both programs earned five first-place votes from the conference's coaches.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Long Beach State leads its all-time series with the Vikings, 5-2. The Beach have won the last three matches between the teams, with the latest being a 3-1 victory at the Vikings' home tournament on Aug. 26, 2022. The Vikings' last victory over LBSU came via a 3-0 sweep at the Vikings' home tournament on Aug. 24, 2018.
 
MATCH #5: PORTLAND STATE (0-3) vs. SAN FRANCISCO (0-2)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Friday, Sept. 5, 6 p.m. PT, San Francisco, Calif. (War Memorial at The Sobrato Center)
SCOUTING SAN FRANCISCO: The San Francisco Dons dropped a pair of 3-0 matches to San Diego State and California in Berkeley to open their season last weekend. The Dons were unlucky not to win the opening set against Cal on Sunday, after holding four set points, but lost it 29-27 then the next two sets each by 25-16 scores. Offense was a struggle for the Dons in both matches last weekend. They head into this week ranked last in the West Coast Conference in hitting percentage (.067), kills (8.50) and assists (8.00) per set. However, the Dons had a pair of strong blocking performances, recording 9.0 against San Diego State and 7.0 against Cal. They head into this week ranked tied for the lead within the WCC with 2.67 blocks per set. They also rank fifth in the conference in digs per set (14.23) as well as eighth in opponent hitting percentage (.216). Individually, Hokulani Perez and Maeve Bailey rank second and third in the WCC, respectively, with 1.60 and 1.50 blocks per set. Libero Abby Wadas tops the conference with 5.83 digs per set through the opening weekend of the season. Offensively, Hannah Taylor leads the Dons with 2.50 kills per set. Anica Bobic ranks second on the team with 2.20 kills per set on .345 hitting. The Dons came into the season picked to finish eighth out of 12 teams in the WCC.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Dons lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 4-3. They broke a tie in the series with a 3-0 sweep of the Vikings in Portland on Aug. 30, 2024. That was the teams' first match since Nov. 25, 2006, a 3-2 neutral-site victory for the Vikings.
 
MATCH #6: PORTLAND STATE (0-3) vs. CAL BAPTIST (1-2)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Saturday, Sept. 6, 11 a.m. PT, Santa Clara, Calif. (Leavey Center)
SCOUTING CAL BAPTIST: The Cal Baptist Lancers went 1-2 at The Ridge Invitational, hosted by CSUN, this past weekend. They lost in four sets to Pacific (Calif.) and CSUN while beating Idaho State out of the Big Sky Conference in five sets. The Lancers out-killed (51-47) and out-aced the Bengals (10-7), which helped them overcome major deficits in hitting percentage (ISU .204, CBU .097) and blocking (ISU 18.5, CBU 6). Through one weekend of the season, the Lancers' strength appears to be at the net where they rank fourth in the Western Athletic Conference with 2.31 blocks per set. Filippa Botcher leads the Lancers with 1.23 blocks per set, ranking her seventh in the conference individually. Outside of blocks, the Lancers rank sixth out of seven teams in hitting percentage (.090), opponent hitting percentage (.175), kills (9.46) and assists (9.00) per set. They rank last in the WAC in digs per set (10.85) and fifth in aces per set (1.46). Individually, Emery Dejong ranks third in the WAC with 3.23 kills per set, which amounts to more than a third (34.1 percent) of the team's total kills so far this season. Jordyn Waite Ward ranks seventh in the WAC with a .273 hitting percentage while she ranks second on her team with 1.77 kills per set. Dejone also leads the Lancers along with Botcher with 0.38 aces per set, ranking them tied for 10th in the WAC. The Lancers came into the season picked to finish fourth in the seven-team WAC. Right-side hitter Eliana Posada was named to the Preseason All-WAC Team, but she did not play in a match last weekend.
ALL-TIME SERIES: This will be only the second-ever meeting between the Vikings and Cal Baptist. The first meeting came on Sept. 1, 1994, which the Vikings won 3-0 at a neutral site.
 
STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS

• The Vikings went 0-3 last week at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic, hosted by Air Force,. They dropped a five-set match to Jacksonville State to open the tournament Friday, then lost in three sets to Seattle U in a match that started just 90 minutes after the loss to Jax State. The Vikings closed out the tournament against host Air Force, losing in four sets.
• The Vikings have yet to win the first set in a match this season. They won the second set in two of their three matches last weekend, even taking a 2-1 lead in the match against Jacksonville State, but couldn't complete the victory.
• The Vikings recorded 10+ blocks in two of their three matches last week, after having 10+ blocks in only four of 28 matches last season. The Vikings recorded 12.0 in their season opener against Jacksonville State, then topped that with 13.0 blocks against Air Force to match their season high from last season. Naomi White led the Vikings with eight blocks against Jacksonville State, while freshman Brenna Coffman paced the Vikings with seven blocks (three solo) against Air Force.
• As a team, the Vikings rank fourth in the Big Sky with 2.50 blocks per set after the opening weekend of the season. Naomi White ranks fourth individually with 1.33 blocks per set.
• Allison Panter recorded eight aces across the Vikings' three matches last week and now leads the Big Sky Conference with 0.73 aces per set after the opening weekend of the season. As a team, the Vikings rank fourth in the Big Sky with 1.50 aces per set.
• Freshman Alivia Eikenberg led the Viking offense through the opening week of the season. She recorded 19 kills on .286 hitting against Jacksonville State, then led the Vikings again with 16 kills on .306 hitting to go with nine digs against Air Force Saturday. Eikenberg now ranks third in the Big Sky in both kills (3.70) and points (4.05) per set.
• Redshirt freshman Amber Walker hit over .250 in all three matches last weekend, including nine kills on .444 hitting against Seattle U on Friday. Walker heads into this week ranked eighth in the Big Sky with a .321 hitting percentage.
• Outside of Alivia Eikenberg and Amber Walker, the Viking offense struggled last week. The Vikings hit below .150 in two of their three matches, while they struggled to get the ball to their middles as Naomi White averaged only 0.83 kills per set. The Vikings head into this week ranked sixth in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.180) and tied for fifth in kills per set (10.6).
• True and redshirt freshmen accounted for 63.8 percent of the Vikings' kills during the first week of the season. Alivia Eikenberg led the way with 37 kills (3.70 per set) last week, while fellow freshmen Amber Walker (22 kills, 1.83 per set) and Willow Watson (19 kills, 1.58 per set) followed her.
• The Viking defense – outside of the blocking at the net – struggled at last week's tournament at Air Force. Two of the Vikings' three opponents hit .237 or better last week, while the Vikings only cracked 50 digs in one of their three matches. The Vikings head into this week ranked eighth in the Big Sky for digs per set (11.1), as well as seventh in opponent hitting percentage (.221).
• Head Coach Michael Seemann described his team's approach to fall camp as, "we've given up continuity for opportunity." To that end, the Vikings played 14 of the 15 players available to them on the opening weekend of the season, and Seemann says he will continue to shuffle the lineup throughout the preseason.
• 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 18 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.