Vikings Look to Extend Win Streak with Home Matches against Eastern Washington, Idaho

FIRST SERVE
Portland State head volleyball coach said of his team Saturday after the Vikings won their second straight five-setter that his young team that features 12 underclassmen on an 18-player roster had learned how to do the hard things.

Considering the wins in question – victories over the defending Big Sky regular-season and tournament champions in Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado, respectively – it'd be hard to argue.

The Vikings will now look to keep doing the hard things this weekend as they host Eastern Washington (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and Idaho (Saturday, 7 p.m.) at Viking Pavilion.

The hard work done against Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado showed through the details.

Starting last Tuesday against Northern Arizona, the Vikings beat an NAU team that had won five matches in a row. Additionally, they won in a venue that they hadn't won since 2023, and in a game that was their third road match out of the last five days.

Freshman outside hitter Maryn Hall dominated the match against NAU. She became the first PSU freshman since Peyton McBride in 2018 to record a 20-20 match, finishing with 26 kills and 21 digs. She had a double-double in the third set alone, recording 11 kills and 10 digs in the frame. Then, when the Vikings needed her most in the fifth set, she recorded seven kills on .429 hitting.

But things got hard again Saturday, when the Vikings lost Hall to an injury not even halfway through the first set of their match against Northern Colorado. The Vikings went on to drop the opening set to the Bears, and then fell behind again, 2-1, when the Bears took the third set.

The Vikings hadn't come back to win a match when losing the opening set since a reverse sweep of Idaho on Oct. 25 last season. What's more, the Bears were outhitting and out-killing the Vikings by a wide margin. The Vikings hadn't won a match where their opponent out-killed them, and they had yet to win a match in which their opponent hit above .200. The Bears did both, and yet the Vikings came back to win in five.

They made up for their deficits against the Bears by dominating the serve-and-pass game. The Vikings set a season high with 14 aces while the Bears gifted them 23 service errors. And in a match with 108 total points for the Vikings, the 37 from the service game represented more than a third of the Vikings' total points in the game.

That percentage was even higher in the fifth set, when 10 of the Vikings' 15 points came from five PSU aces and five UNC service errors. The five aces came consecutively from freshman Magdalena Ranitovic, who turned a 5-2 PSU lead into a 10-2 advantage.

Ranitovic stepped up in Hall's absence against the Bears. She finished with six total aces in the match, setting a career high while also recording the first double-double of her PSU career with 10 kills and 14 digs. Alivia Eikenberg also stepped up with a team-high 14 kills against the Bears.

The Vikings will need people stepping up again this weekend. Hall led the Vikings in kills in both of their previous matches against Eastern Washington and Idaho, recording 13 kills in both matches. Right-side hitters Katarina Kosic and Willow Watson joined her in double figures in either match. Kosic totaled 10 kills on .333 hitting against Idaho, while Watson had 11 kills on .300 hitting against the Eagles.

The defense was the true star of the Vikings' previous match against Eastern Washington, which the Vikings won in three sets on the road. The Vikings held the Eagles to just 20 kills on .034 hitting, both season lows for a PSU opponent. The Eagles have also been without leading attacker Kalista Lukovic since their previous match against the Vikings.

The Vikings' passing will have to be better against Idaho Saturday. The Vandals beat the Vikings in four sets the last time they played thanks to 12 aces – the most by a PSU opponent this season. Kiana Greer led the Vandals with five aces, while she also led the team with 14 kills.

Improving their serve receive against the Vandals will be hard. As it will be to beat a team twice in a season like the Vikings have the chance to do against the Eagles. But that's why Seemann has been encouraged that his team has done hard things recently.

Once you've done one hard thing, the next one doesn't seem as bad.

MATCH #22: PORTLAND STATE (9-12, 5-5) vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON (9-13, 3-7)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Thursday, Oct. 29, 7 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON:

The Eastern Washington Eagles snapped a five-match losing streak with a 3-1 victory over Southern Utah last Thursday. They followed that match with a 3-0 loss to league-leader Utah Tech Saturday.
The Eagles' recent losing streak included a 3-0 loss to the Vikings in Cheney on Oct. 17. The Vikings held the Eagles to only 20 kills on .034 hitting, both season lows for a Viking opponent. Maryn Hall and Willow Watson led the Vikings with 13 and 11 kills, respectively, while Kalista Lukovich led the Eagles with 10 kills.
Eastern Washington represents an elite team at the net. The Eagles lead the Big Sky Conference and rank 20th nationally with 2.70 blocks per set as a team. Sidney Gray and Judith Bolomboy lead the team with 1.12 and 1.01 blocks per set, respectively, ranking them fourth and ninth in the Big Sky individually.
The Eagles' blocking numbers mean they also rank third in the Big Sky and 16th nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.162). They rank fourth in the Big Sky and 39th nationally with 15.5 digs per set. Libero Elle Bruegman ranks fifth in the Big Sky with 4.12 digs per set.
Offensively, the Eagles run through Lukovich who ranks second nationally with 13.2 attacks per set. Lukovich leads the Big Sky and ranks 20th nationally with 4.35 kills per set while she also tops the conference with 4.88 points per set.
Lukovich has not played since the Eagles' last match against the Vikings, however. Cassandra Moeller led the Eagles with 10 kills in their win over Southern Utah in Lukovich's stead. Bria Carlisle led the Eagles with seven kills in their loss to Utah Tech.

SERIES NOTES:

The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings 39-32, including their 3-0 road sweep of the Eagles on Oct. 17.
The Vikings have won four of their five matches against the Eagles, including their last three home matches.
The Vikings are 22-11 all-time against the Eagles at home.

MATCH #23: PORTLAND STATE (9-12, 5-5) vs. IDAHO (12-10, 3-7)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Saturday, Oct. 31, 7 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
SCOUTING IDAHO:

The Idaho Vandals returned to the win column with a four-set win over Southern Utah last Saturday. They had dropped two in a row to Northern Arizona (3-1) and Utah Tech (3-0) after beating the Vikings in four sets at home on Oct. 15.
The Vandals came back from a first-set loss to beat the Vikings in four sets. They recorded 12 aces in the match – three more than any other PSU opponent this season. Kiana Greer posted a match-high five aces while also leading the Idaho offense with 14 kills. Maryn Hall and Katarina Kosic led the Vikings with 13 and 10 kills, respectively.
Serving has been a strength for the Vandals throughout the season. They head into this week ranked third in the Big Sky and 106th nationally with 1.60 aces per set. Greer leads the Vandals individually with 0.40 aces per set, ranking her fourth in the conference and 107th nationally.
Greer also leads the Vandals offensively with 3.46 kills per set, ranking her fourth in the conference. As a team, the Vandals rank sixth in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.197) while they rank seventh in kills per set (12.0).
Defensively, the Vandals rank eighth in the Big Sky for blocks (1.94) and 10th in digs (12.7) per set. They rank ninth in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.211). Keira Kleidon leads the Vandals with 3.39 digs per set. Koen Makaula leads the Vandals at the net with 1.01 blocks per set.

SERIES NOTES:

The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Vandals, 24-11.
The Vikings had won seven in a row over the Vandals before Idaho snapped that streak with two wins in a row. Both of the Vandals' recent wins over the Vikings have come in Moscow.
The Vikings reverse swept the Vandals the last time they played in Viking Pavilion, coming back to win in five sets on Oct. 25, 2025.
The Vikings have won four straight home matches over the Vandals where they are 14-5 all-time against the Vandals.

QUICK HITTERS
Team Notes

LAST WEEK: The Vikings won a pair of five-set matches, beating Northern Arizona on the road and then Northern Colorado at home. The Vikings have now won three matches in a row, starting with a 3-0 road sweep of Eastern Washington on Oct. 17.
DOING THE HARD THINGS: Head coach Michael Seemann said after his team's win over Northern Colorado that the Vikings were "doing hard things." During their current three-match win streak, that includes: snapping a 12-match road losing streak; beating NAU on the road at the end of a three-match, five-day road trip; overcoming two different deficits in their win over Northern Colorado; and beating Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado despite being outhit in both matches. Those are all encouraging signs for a Portland State team that features 12 underclassmen on its 18-player roster.
BUCKING THE TREND: The Vikings had lost 14 straight matches in which they dropped the opening set before beating Northern Colorado Saturday. They had also lost 15 straight matches when their opponent hit .200 or better until beating the Bears Saturday.
IT'S SERVING ACES: The Vikings simply would not have beaten Northern Colorado without the serve-and-pass game last Saturday. They set a season high with 14 aces of their own, while the Bears gifted them 23 service errors. The 37 total points from the service line represented more than a third of the Vikings' 108 points in the match. That was even more pronounced in the fifth set when 10 of the Vikings' 15 points came from either PSU aces (5) or UNC service errors (5).
THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARYN: Freshman outside hitter Maryn Hall put together one of the best performances by a PSU freshman in program history last Tuesday at Northern Arizona. Hall recorded the first 20-20 match by a freshman since 2018 with 26 kills and 21 digs. She had a double-double in the third set alone with 11 kills and 10 digs in the frame. But she went down with an injury in the first set of the Vikings' match against Northern Colorado, leaving her doubtful for this weekend.
RANITOVIC RUNS IT BACK…AND BACK…AND BACK…AND BACK: Freshman outside hitter Magdalena Ranitovic turned a 5-2 PSU lead in the fifth set against Northern Colorado into a 10-2 lead with five straight aces. They came as part of a career-high six aces for Ranitovic in the match while she also recorded her first double-double as a Viking with 10 kills and 14 digs. She stepped up in Hall's absence, playing in her most sets of any match this season.
SEASON'S BEST DEFENSE: The Vikings put together their best defensive showing of the season in their road sweep of Eastern Washington on Oct. 17. They held the Eagles to just 20 kills on .034 hitting in the match, both of which were season lows for a Viking opponent.
MENDOZA LINE: While the Vikings beat Northern Colorado despite the Bears' high hitting percentage, they are still better off this season when holding opponents below .200 hitting. The Vikings are 8-2 this season when doing so. They're a perfect 3-0 when holding their opponent below .100 hitting, as they did against Eastern Washinton on Oct. 17.
VERSATILITY IN OUR FORMATION: The Vikings played in a 6-2 throughout their recent road wins against Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona. They started in a 6-2 against Northern Colorado last Saturday but switched into a 5-1 when Maryn Hall went down in the first set and came back to win the match. The Vikings' first two Big Sky wins also came when they played in a 5-1, showing that the Vikings can win in either formation.
TOUGH SERVING: Last Saturday's season high for aces pushed the Vikings back up to second in the Big Sky with 1.65 aces per set as a team. Ava Blascziek ranks third in the Big Sky with 0.41 aces per set individually. Ranitovic is averaging 0.52 aces per set after her six aces against Northern Colorado, but she doesn't meet the minimum participation requirements to qualify for the conference rankings.
LITTLE BIG LEAGUE: Head coach Michael Seemann has repeatedly praised the team's "littles" – the team's affectionate nickname for their defensive specialists – as one of their major strengths. Paige Stepaniuk and Jessica Truong have both started at libero this season and played well. They've also both subbed on as a back row sub when the Vikings play in a 5-1 formation. Truong leads the Vikings with 3.73 digs per set, ranking her eighth in the conference. Stepaniuk has been the primary libero for the majority of the last six matches, however, during which time she's averaging 4.00 digs per set.
BIESEMEYER GOES BEAST MODE: Junior middle blocker Reese Biesemeyer put together a stat line for the ages in the Vikings' win over Southern Utah on Sept. 26. She recorded eight kills on .667 hitting offensively while setting a career high with 10 blocks at the net. She's gone on to average 1.28 blocks per set within Big Sky play while stringing together her best run of play to date as a Viking. Biesemeyer ranks sixth in the Big Sky now with 1.04 blocks per set across the whole season.
RIGHT SIDE, STRONG SIDE: While the Vikings may alternate between a 5-1 or 6-2, it's not for a lack of firepower on the right side. Willow Watson frequently has her best matches in Portland State wins. The Vikings are 4-1 this season when Watson records 10+ kills in a match, including 3-0 within Big Sky play. Katarina Kosic, meanwhile, is averaging 1.78 kills per set on .253 hitting as a freshman. She's recorded 10+ kills in three matches, including 11 kills on .647 hitting against UTRGV on Sept. 10.
UP-AND-DOWN OFFENSE: The Vikings have hit under .200 in 12 of their last 13 matches. The one recent exception came against Southern Utah when the Vikings hit a season-high .294 in a win over the Thunderbirds on Sept. 26.
OLIGARCHY OF OFFENSE: Seven different players have led the Vikings in kills this season. Including ties, that list features Alivia Eikenberg (seven times), Maryn Hall (six times), Willow Watson (four times), Ashley Repetti (three times), Katarina Kosic (two times), Brenna Coffman (once) and Jordyn Romano (once).
ROAD WOES: While the Vikings won their last two road matches, they've still been much better at home this season where they are 4-2. In comparison, the Vikings are 2-9 on the road, with their two wins coming over the last two weeks.
YA DIG?: The Vikings set a season high with 98 digs in their five-set win over Northern Arizona last Tuesday. They now rank seventh in the Big Sky with 14.5 digs per set.
IMPORTANCE OF FIRST SET: While the Vikings came back to beat Northern Colorado, the numbers still show that the Vikings are much better off when winning the first set. They're 8-4 this season when winning the opener versus 1-8 when losing the first set. It was a similar story last year when the Vikings were 8-1 when winning the first set versus 3-16 when losing it.
FIVE-SET MATCHES: The Vikings' back-to-back five-set wins over Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado improved their record to 3-2 in five-setters this season. They dropped a five-set match at Idaho State on Oct. 3. They split two five-set matches over the opening weekend of the season, losing at Portland on Aug. 28 before turning around and beating Nevada two days later.
DEUCE SETS: The Vikings have played 19 sets decided by two points this season. The Vikings are 8-11 in those sets. They're 1-4 in matches where they lose the majority of the two-point sets, 3-1 in matches where they evenly split the two-point sets, and 0-3 in matches where they win the majority.
EXTRA-POINT SETS: The Vikings have played nine sets that went past 25 points, going 5-4 in those nine. The longest set the Vikings have played this season remains 27-25 (three times).
DEEP BENCH: All 18 players have played in a match this season. Sixteen of the Vikings' 18 players have already played in at least 20 sets.

Head Coach Michael Seemann

GOING PLATINUM: Michael Seemann is in his platinum year (20th) as head coach of the Portland State volleyball program. He is the longest-tenured head coach of any of the Vikings' 15 varsity programs.
MISTER 300: Seemann hit the 300-win career milestone with the Vikings' 3-0 road sweep at Eastern Washington on Oct. 17. He became the third Portland State volleyball coach to reach 300 wins, joining Marlene Piper (445 wins from 1969-72 and 1974-83) and Jeff Mozzochi (371 wins from 1984-92 and 2001-06).
200 CONFERENCE WINS: Seemann needs four more Big Sky Conference wins to reach 200 in his coaching career. Seemann will be the first Viking head coach in any sport to reach 200 Big Sky wins when he reaches the milestone. The department's other winningest coaches competed outside of the Big Sky Conference for all or most of their careers.

Background Info

EXPERIENCE RETURNING: The Vikings returned five starters and their libero off last year's team that went 11-17 overall and 7-9 in Big Sky play.
SHAKING OFF THE INJURY BUG: The Vikings were pushing for a higher seed than they finished (T-7th) last season before injuries got the better of them. Starters Willow Watson, Alivia Eikenberg and Reese Biesemeyer all went down with injuries throughout the year. Watson went down in the team's third conference match – after the Vikings had started Big Sky play 2-0 – while the Vikings lost Eikenberg and Biesemeyer on the final weekend of the regular season. Starting setter Ava Blascziek also missed time at the beginning of the year.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: Big Sky coaches picked the Vikings to finish eighth in an expanded, 11-team conference this season. Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona – the defending Big Sky tournament and regular-season champions, respectively – topped the poll. The Bears edged the 'Jacks by three points, 88-85, despite both teams receiving four first-place votes. Idaho State and Montana, which earned two first-place votes, finished tied for third with 72 points each.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE: The addition of Utah Tech and Southern Utah to the Big Sky Conference – to offset the loss of Sacramento State – means the Vikings will play an 18-match conference schedule. That'll be the longest conference season for all Big Sky teams since they played a 20-match schedule in 2013 and 2014.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Vikings made their longest trip east since 2004 when they traveled to Chicago for a match at DePaul on Sept. 2, then a tournament at Northern Illinois, Sept. 4-5.
ROSTER SIZE: The Vikings have an 18-player roster for the first time in program history. The 18-player roster leans towards youth as the Vikings have six freshmen and six sophomores. Last year's six-member freshman class marked the Vikings' largest since 2019.