Tournament Notes (PDF)

FIRST SERVE
Anybody who's booked a trip to Disneyland and wanted to immediately return once their trip is over knows how the Portland State volleyball team must feel this week. The Vikings are making a U-turn and going back to California for three matches at The Joust Invitational, hosted by California Baptist, Thursday to Saturday in Riverside, Calif.
 
The young Vikings broke through last week in their first trip to California. Playing at two tournaments in the Bay Area, the Vikings earned their first win of the season with a 3-0 sweep of Long Beach State. It was a quality win for the Vikings, as the Beach came into the match having just pushed then-No. 19 UCLA to five sets three days earlier.
 
All facets shined for the Vikings in the win. Offensively, five different players recorded at least six kills for the Vikings, who outhit the Beach .246-to-.197. Freshman Alivia Eikenberg continued her hot start to the season with a match-high 15 kills on .205 hitting. Freshman Willow Watson recorded nine kills on .500 hitting from the right, while middle blocker Naomi White – after only averaging 0.83 kills per set over the first weekend of the season – finished with six kills on .500 hitting.
 
Defensively, the Vikings recorded a then-season high with 54 digs despite it being only a three-set match. Libero Paige Stepaniuk led the way with 15 digs to go with five assists and two aces. Eikenberg added 10 digs, giving the freshman the first double-double of her collegiate career.
 
What's more, the Vikings played well late in sets, winning a pair of two-point sets to open the match – 25-23 and 26-24 – en route to the sweep.
 
Close sets were a theme for the Vikings all weekend. Seven of the 11 sets the Vikings played at the Battle By The Bay and Santa Clara Mission Classic last week were decided by two points. That included two 30-point sets at the beginning of the Vikings' match against San Francisco, a first for the Vikings during the current 25-point scoring format (2008-present). The Vikings split those two 30-point sets, then won the fourth set, 25-23, to force a fifth.
 
The close sets meant the Vikings and Dons played for nearly three hours, a marathon that the Dons would eventually win 15-12 in the fifth set.
 
The Vikings played two more two-point sets against California Baptist Saturday, but lost both in a 3-0 defeat. All told, the Vikings went 4-3 in two-point sets last week, leaving their season record in such sets at 5-6.
 
Some of the close sets the Vikings lost could have gone their way with a small change here or there. That's the nature of a young roster, which features 11 underclassmen on their 16-player roster.
 
True or redshirt freshmen account for 65.2 percent of the Vikings' kills so far this season. A lot of that comes from Eikenberg, who leads the Vikings while ranking second in the Big Sky Conference in both kills (3.90) and points (4.43) per set. Watson ranks second to Eikenberg with 43 total kills (1.87 per set), while redshirt freshman Amber Walker ranks third on the team with 40 total kills (2.00 per set).
 
Watson averaged 2.18 kills per set last week on .388 hitting. Her and White both emerged as strong secondary options for the Vikings behind Eikenberg. White averaged 1.73 kills per set on .359 hitting, which freed up Eikenberg for 4.09 kills and 2.82 digs per set last week.
 
Those three weren't alone in playing well in California last week, however. Stepaniuk averaged 4.36 digs per set at her libero position; Sydney Stenson set career highs for aces (3) and blocks (4) in the Vikings' match against California Baptist; while Ava Blascziek recorded her first double-double as a Viking with 23 assists and 10 digs against San Francisco. Additionally, Allison Panter recorded her third match of the season with at least three aces with three against San Francisco Friday.
 
A return trip to California must sound appealing to the Vikings, then. The trip even promises a rematch with California Baptist Friday. The Vikings hope to play better after a sluggish start to their previous match against the Lancers following the previous day's marathon against San Francisco got the Vikings behind early. CBU didn't let up, either, outhitting the Vikings .256-to-.134 behind a dominant showing from Emery DeJong, who recorded 19 kills on .429 hitting individually against the Vikings.
 
The Vikings will begin the weekend against New Mexico Thursday. The Lobos take a perfect 6-0 record into the weekend that includes a five-set win over Northern Arizona out of the Big Sky Conference on Aug. 29. The Lobos have proved potent from the service line, as they lead the Mountain West Conference and rank 21st nationally with 2.13 aces per set. Setter Madeleine Miller leads the Mountain West while ranking fifth nationally with 0.87 aces per set individually. Miller's also led the New Mexico offense to 13.3 kills and 12.5 assists per set, averages that rank them second in the Mountain West.
 
Friday's match against CBU will follow for the Vikings, who will then close out the weekend against Cal State Fullerton at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Titans have already matched their win total from last season with a 4-2 start to the year. The four wins include a pair of five-set victories over Idaho out of the Big Sky Conference.
 
Ultimately, the Vikings will hope to play better in that 11 a.m. timeslot than they did last week against the Lancers. Coincidentally, this weekend's trip to California follows the same schedule as the first – a 2 p.m. match Thursday, 6 p.m. match Friday, and 11 a.m. match Saturday.
 
It's like a Disney Adult returning to Disneyland and following their same rope-drop strategy they used before. Except this time, the Vikings hope to not break down on Indiana Jones after previous stops at Rise of the Resistance and Tiana's Bayou Adventure.
 
MATCH #7: PORTLAND STATE (1-5) vs. NEW MEXICO (6-0)
LIVE STATS
DETAILS: Thursday, Sept. 11, 2 p.m. PT, Riverside, Calif. (Van Dyne Gym)
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO: The New Mexico Lobos will take an undefeated record into Thursday's meeting with the Vikings. Their record includes a five-set win over Northern Arizona out of the Big Sky Conference on Aug. 29. The Lobos came into the season predicted to finish ninth in the 12-team Mountain West Conference. They've surpassed those expectations through the first two weekends of the season as they rank in the top three of the conference in most statistical categories. The Lobos top the conference with 2.13 aces per set, an average that also ranks them 21st nationally. Setter Madeleine Miller leads the Mountain West while ranking fifth nationally with 0.87 aces per set. Miller's also led the New Mexico offense to 13.3 kills and 12.5 assists per set, averages that rank them second in the Mountain West. The Lobos rank third in the conference with a .257 hitting percentage. Gioia Riccato and Addison France rank fourth and seventh in the Mountain West with 3.39 and 3.17 kills per set, respectively. Solia Angilau ranks seventh in the Mountain West with a .352 hitting percentage while also averaging 1.60 kills per set. Defensively, the Lobos rank second in the Mountain West and 56th nationally in digs per set (15.3). Libero Camila Canedo ranks third in the conference individually with 3.87 digs per set. The one category where the Lobos don't rank highly is blocks, as they rank 11th in the Mountain West with 1.57 blocks per set. That hasn't prevented them from holding opponents to a low hitting percentage, however, as the Lobos enter the weekend ranked third in the Mountain West with an opponent hitting percentage of .165.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Lobos lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 4-1. The Lobos have won all four matches since the turn of the century, including a 3-0 sweep of the Vikings in their last meeting on Sept. 3, 2022. The Vikings' lone win over the Lobos came in 1983 when the Vikings beat the Lobos, 3-1, at a tournament at BYU.
 
MATCH #8: PORTLAND STATE (1-5) vs. CALIFORNIA BAPTIST (2-4)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Friday, Sept. 12, 6 p.m. PT, Riverside, Calif. (Van Dyne Gym)
SCOUTING CALIFORNIA BAPTIST: The California Baptist Lancers earned their second win of the season with a 3-0 sweep of the Vikings Saturday at the Santa Clara Mission Classic. The Lancers lost their first two matches at the tournament, dropping a 3-1 match to Santa Clara Thursday and a 3-0 match to UNLV Friday. The Lancers' two wins this season have both come against Big Sky teams. In addition to their win over the Vikings, CBU won a five-set match against Idaho State at The Ridge Invitational, hosted by CSUN, on Aug. 30. The Lancers' win over the Vikings marked their best offensive match of the season. They hit a season-high .256 against the Vikings, more than double their previous season high of .122. Emery DeJong led the Lancers to the strong offensive showing, recording 19 kills on .429 hitting. DeJong has been the Lancers' No. 1 option on offense all season, as she ranks second in the Western Athletic Conference with 3.57 kills per set. Besides DeJong, Olivia Melton and Eleftheria Baxa rank second and third on the team with 1.75 and 1.70 kills per set, respectively. As a team, the Lancers rank sixth out of seven teams in the WAC with a .120 hitting percentage. They also rank sixth in assists per set (9.22) and seventh in kills per set (9.83). Defensively, the Lancers rank higher within the WAC. They rank third in the conference with 2.00 blocks per set and fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.181). Filippa Botcher leads the Lancers individually with 1.00 blocks per set.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Lancers tied the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 1-1, with their 3-0 sweep of Portland State last weekend at the Santa Clara Mission Classic. The only other meeting between the teams came on Sept. 1, 1994, which the Vikings won 3-0 at a tournament in Hilo, Hawaii.
 
MATCH #9: PORTLAND STATE (1-5) vs. CAL STATE FULLERTON (4-2)
LIVE STATS
DETAILS: Saturday, Sept. 13, 11 a.m. PT, Riverside, Calif. (Van Dyne Gym)
SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON: The Cal State Fullerton Titans have already matched their win total from last season with a 4-2 start to 2025. That includes a pair of five-set wins over Idaho out of the Big Sky Conference. The Titans are in their first year under new head coach Nicky Cannon, who came to the Titans from another Big West Conference school after three years as head coach at UC Riverside. Cannon and the Titans came into the season picked to finish 10th in the 11-team Big West Conference. They've surpassed those expectations so far with their start to the season, as they head into this weekend leading the Big West in opponent hitting percentage (.179) while also ranking second in the conference in aces per set (1.60). The Titans rank fourth in the conference in both hitting percentage (.219) and digs per set (13.2). Individually, the Titans have two players ranked in the top 10 of the Big West for hitting percentage in Hannah Hass (3rd, .358) and Zariah Crosby (6th, .350). Those two also rank among the top four hitters for the Titans. Lira Pukl Verdel and Ketsia Hall lead the team with 2.32 and 2.20 kills per set, respectively, while Crosby and Hass rank third and fourth with 2.08 and 1.91 kills per set.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Titans, 3-1. The Vikings swept the Titans in their latest meeting, a 3-0 victory at Portland State's home tournament on Aug. 26, 2023.
 
STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS

• The Vikings went 1-2 last week between the Battle By The Bay and Santa Clara Mission Classic. The Vikings swept Long Beach State, 3-0, to open the weekend Thursday. They lost a marathon, five-set match to San Francisco that lasted nearly three hours Friday, then dropped a three-set match to California Baptist Saturday morning.
• Thursday's sweep of Long Beach State marked the first time the Vikings have won the first set in a match this season. The Vikings have lost the first set in all five of their other matches, and are unsurprisingly 0-5 in those other five matches.
• Seven of the 11 sets the Vikings played last week were decided by two points. That included back-to-back 30-point sets against San Francisco Friday, the first time the Vikings have had two sets go past 30 points in a match during the current 25-point scoring format (2008-present). The Vikings went 4-3 in two-point sets last week and are 5-6 in such sets this season.
• Freshman Willow Watson broke out offensively during the Vikings' win over Long Beach State. Watson recorded nine kills on .500 hitting in the match, then followed up with 12 kills on .417 hitting against San Francisco. Watson averaged 2.18 kills per set on .388 hitting across all three matches last weekend.
• After being held to just 0.83 kills per set over the opening weekend of the season, the Vikings found middle blocker Naomi White on offense more this past weekend. White averaged 1.73 kills per set on .359 hitting across all three matches last week. She went into double figures with 10 kills on .300 hitting while leading all players with seven blocks in the Vikings' match at San Francisco.
• Freshman Alivia Eikenberg averaged 4.09 kills per set over the Vikings' three matches last weekend. That included the first two double-doubles of her collegiate career as she recorded 15 kills and 10 digs in the win over Long Beach State, and 22 kills and 15 digs at San Francisco. Eikenberg heads into this weekend ranked second in the Big Sky Conference in both kills (3.90) and points (4.43) per set.
• The Vikings have recorded 10+ blocks in three of their six matches so far this season, after having 10+ blocks in only four of 28 matches last season. The Vikings head into this weekend ranked fourth in the Big Sky and 67th nationally with 2.43 blocks per set. Individually, Naomi White ranks fourth in the Big Sky and 49th nationally with 1.39 blocks per set. Besides her, freshman Brenna Coffman ranks second on the team with 0.93 blocks per set.
• Allison Panter leads the Big Sky and ranks 74th nationally with 0.57 assists per set. She has three matches with at least three aces already this season, including last Friday when she had three aces against San Francisco. The Vikings rank third in the Big Sky with 1.57 aces per set as a team. Besides Panter, Sydney Stenson ranks second on the team with 0.27 aces per set.
• Junior transfer Ava Blascziek made her Viking debut in the team's 3-0 win over Long Beach State, playing opposite Allison Panter in the Vikings' 6-2 formation. Blascziek recorded her first double-double as a Viking against San Francisco Friday, totaling 23 assists and 10 digs.
• Junior libero Paige Stepaniuk nearly recorded the first double-double of her career Friday, recording 25 digs and nine assists against San Francisco. She averaged 4.36 digs per set over all three matches last week and now ranks fourth in the Big Sky with 3.78 digs per set for the season.
• True and redshirt freshmen account for 65.2 percent of the Vikings' kills so far this season. True freshman Alivia Eikenberg leads the team with 82 total kills (3.90 per set), while classmate Willow Watson ranks second on the team with 43 total kills (1.87 per set). Redshirt freshman Amber Walker ranks third on the team with 40 total kills (2.00 per set).
• The magic number for the Vikings has been a .200 hitting percentage. The Vikings are 1-1 when hitting over .200 and 0-4 when they don't. Similarly, they are 1-1 when holding their opponent below .200 hitting and 0-4 when they don't.
• 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 17 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.