FIRST SERVE
The Portland State volleyball team returns home for a pair of matches against the Montana schools this week at Viking Pavilion. The Vikings host Montana Thursday and Montana State Saturday, with both matches starting at 7 p.m.
 
Home has been kinder to the Vikings than the road. If only home and neutral-site matches counted, the Vikings would be 5-2. But while the Vikings remain winless on the road, they made progress last weekend in a pair of matches at Weber State and Idaho State. The Vikings won the opening set in both matches, including the first two sets against the Bengals last Saturday.
 
Idaho State came back to beat the Vikings in five, but the Vikings were the first conference team to take a set – let alone two – off an Idaho State team that remains unbeaten in Big Sky play.
 
The Vikings took the opening two sets from the Bengals behind its middle and right-side hitters. Middle blockers Brenna Coffman and Reese Biesemeyer, together with right-side hitter Katarina Kosic, accounted for 11 of the Vikings' first 13 kills in the match. They helped open things up for the team's left-side hitters, who got hot in the second set when the Vikings out-killed the Bengals 20-to-13.
 
The Vikings were out-killing the Bengals 36-to-27 while outhitting them .255-to-.195 by the end of the second set. But the match changed from there as the Bengals slowed down the Vikings' middle and right-side hitters, which slowed down the offense as a whole.
 
Defensively, the Vikings have had success in recent matches with their 5-1 formation allowing them to put more defensive specialists on the floor. Paige Stepaniuk and Xanthe Ocampo have subbed in as back-row attackers over the last few matches, playing alongside starting libero Jessica Truong. The "littles", as the team calls them, have extended rallies for the Vikings the past few games.
 
Truong has put together a particularly strong run of play recently. She re-set her career high for digs twice last week, recording 22 digs at Weber State, then topping that with 23 digs at Idaho State. She's recorded 20+ digs in three of the Vikings' four Big Sky matches. She now ranks fourth in the Big Sky and 76th nationally with 4.15 digs per set this season.
 
Reese Biesemeyer has also had a strong recent run of form defensively. She became the first Viking to record 10+ blocks in a match with 10 against Southern Utah on Sept. 26. She followed with eight blocks at Weber State last Thursday, then led the Vikings again with three blocks at Idaho State. She heads into this week averaging 1.62 blocks per set over the Vikings' last three matches.
 
Thursday's opponent, Montana, could be mistaken for a mirror image of the Vikings. The Grizzlies have an identical record to the Vikings (5-10, 1-3) and both teams have some startling similarities. The Grizzlies and Vikings rank 1-2 in the Big Sky Conference in aces per set, with the Grizzlies averaging 1.81 to the Vikings' 1.68.  Both teams' setters, meanwhile, rank 1-2 individually. Montana's Gracie Cagle leads the conference at 0.47 aces per set, while the Vikings' Ava Blascziek ranks right behind at 0.46.
 
Both teams have also struggled at times offensively. The Grizzlies rank eighth in the conference in kills per set (11.8) and ninth in hitting percentage (.177) – just ahead of the Vikings in both categories (11.4 k/s, .171 hit%).
 
Montana State will bring a different look to their match against the Vikings Saturday. The Bobcats feature a more potent offense as they rank third in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.225) and fourth in kills per set (12.3).
 
The Vikings and Bobcats have played some classics in recent years. Three of the teams' last five meetings have gone to five sets, with the Vikings winning all three. The Vikings came back from match point down to beat the Bobcats in five sets in 2023 and 2025.
 
No one on the Portland State side would complain about an easier go of things Saturday, especially with the match being homecoming for the Vikings. But it's also good to know you have that in your back pocket as the Vikings continue to push for improvements.
 
MATCH #16: PORTLAND STATE (5-10, 1-3) vs. MONTANA (5-10, 1-3)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Thursday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
SCOUTING MONTANA:

• The Montana Grizzlies have an identical record to the Vikings at 5-10 overall and 1-3 in Big Sky play. They opened conference play with three straight four-set losses against Montana State, Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington. They broke through for their first conference win last Saturday, sweeping Idaho at home.
• The Vikings and Grizzlies share two common non-conference opponents in Seattle U and Oregon State. Both teams lost to the Beavers (3-0 PSU, 3-1 Montana). The Vikings beat Seattle U in a four-set exhibition on Aug. 22 while the Grizzlies swept them twice between tournaments in Corvallis and Spokane.
• The Grizzlies came into the season with high expectations. Big Sky coaches picked them to finish tied for third in the conference while receiving two of the 11 first-place votes in the league's preseason poll. The high expectations came after the Grizzlies went 17-11 last season, earning their most wins in a single season since 1999.
• Delaney Russell and Gracie Cagle were both named to the preseason all-conference team. Russell was a first-team all-conference selection as a sophomore last season while Cagle was a second-team selection as a junior.
• Statistically, the Grizzlies – like the Vikings – represent a strong serving team. They lead the conference and rank 53rd nationally with 1.81 aces per set as a team. Cagle leads that effort as she tops the conference while also ranking 54th nationally with 0.47 aces per set. Russell ranks second on the team and seventh in the conference with 0.34 aces per set.
• Outside of serving, the Grizzlies rank eighth in the Big Sky in kills (11.8) and assists (10.9) per set, while they rank ninth in hitting percentage (.177). Russell leads the Montana offense with 2.74 kills per set individually. Josie Blazina ranks second on the team with 2.00 kills per set.
• Defensively, the Grizzlies rank fifth in the Big Sky with 14.5 digs per set. They rank 10th in opponent hitting percentage (.245) and 11th in blocks per set (1.53). Madeline Sanderson leads the Grizzlies' back row while ranking second in the Big Sky with 4.28 digs per set. Blazina leads the Grizzlies at the net with 0.68 blocks per set.

SERIES NOTES:

• The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Grizzlies 58-22. The series has been more evenly split recently, however, with the Grizzlies winning three of the last four.
• The Grizzlies beat the Vikings in five sets in Portland in what was the teams' lone meeting last season. That was Montana's first win in Portland since 2015.
• The Vikings' last victory over the Grizzlies came on Sept. 28, 2024, in a four-set match at home.

 
MATCH #17: PORTLAND STATE (5-10, 1-3) vs. MONTANA STATE (10-5, 3-1)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Saturday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
SCOUTING MONTANA STATE:

• The Montana State Bobcats opened Big Sky play with a 3-1 rivalry win over Montana on Sept. 22. They dropped a three-set match to defending Big Sky tournament champion Northern Colorado in their next match, but then bounced back with 3-0 and 3-1 wins over Idaho and Eastern Washington, respectively.
• The Bobcats went 7-4 in non-conference play. They shared a common opponent with the Vikings in University of Portland. The Bobcats lost 3-1 at home to the Pilots on Sept. 12 while the Vikings fell in five sets on the road on Aug. 28.
• The Bobcats came into the season picked to finish in the middle of the conference, finishing sixth in the league's preseason poll. Joelie Spelts and Teagan Jaynes were both named to the preseason all-conference team.
• The Bobcats have been a strong offensive team so far this season. They rank third in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.225) while also ranking fourth in kills per set (12.3). Spelts ranks fourth in the conference with a .379 hitting percentage individually. Karli Heidemann leads the Bobcats' hitters with 2.94 kills per set, ranking her eighth in the conference. Jaynes ranks second in the Big Sky with 8.61 assists per set.
• Defensively, the Bobcats rank fifth in the Big Sky in opponent hitting percentage (.197). They also rank seventh in digs (13.9) and eighth in blocks (2.00) per set. Nicolette Noble leads the back row with 3.98 digs per set, ranking her sixth in the conference.
• The Bobcats average 1.35 aces per set, ranking them sixth in the conference. Jaynes leads the team with 0.39 aces per set, ranking her fourth in the conference.

SERIES NOTES:

• The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Bobcats, 51-27-1. The Vikings have won the last three matches in the series and five of the last six.
• Three of the Vikings' last five matches against the Bobcats went to five sets, with the Vikings winning all three. The Vikings came back from match points down to win in five sets at home in 2023 and 2025.
• The Bobcats' last win over the Vikings came in Bozeman in 2023, when they won in four sets.

 
QUICK HITTERS
Team Notes

• LAST WEEK: The Vikings dropped their two road matches at Weber State and Idaho State. The Vikings won the opening set of both but then fell in four sets to the Wildcats last Thursday and five sets to the Bengals last Saturday.
• TOUGH SERVING: The Vikings rank second in the Big Sky and 77th nationally with 1.68 aces per set. They've recorded seven or more aces in 10 of their 15 matches this season, including a season-high 10 against Murray State on Sept. 5. Ava Blascziek ranks second in the Big Sky and 56th nationally with 0.46 aces per set individually. She has twice finished with a career-high five aces in a match this season.
• FORMATION CHANGES: The Vikings have alternated between a 5-1 and 6-2 formation throughout this season and will likely continue to do so until the end of the year. The Vikings played in a 5-1 for the majority of their recent win over Southern Utah on Sept. 26. Head coach Michael Seemann said the formation allowed the Vikings' defensive specialists to influence the match more and extend rallies. It worked against the Thunderbirds as the Vikings had four players finish with 10+ digs for the first time this season.
• STRONG LIKE TRUONG: Sophomore libero Jessica Truong will touch every inch of the court by the end of a match. She re-set her career high for digs in back-to-back matches last week, recording 22 digs against Weber State then 23 against Idaho State. She has now recorded 20+ digs in three of the Vikings' last four matches. She now ranks fourth in the Big Sky and 76th in the NCAA with 4.15 digs per set this season.
• 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 followed with eight blocks against Weber State and another three against Idaho State. She's averaging 1.62 blocks per set over the team's last three matches.
• PRODUCTION ON THE LEFT: The Vikings jumped up 2-0 on Idaho State behind it's middle and right-side hitters. But once the Bengals started covering that, the Vikings struggled to get production from the left and Idaho State came back. The Viking offense have been at their best when their left sides are swinging away. In their win over Southern Utah, both Alivia Eikenberg and Ashley Repetti both went into double figures with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Eikenberg recorded all but one of her 12 kills over the final two sets while hitting .417 in the match.
• 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 showed the effect she can have on the Viking offense with 10 kills on .474 hitting in the team's win over Southern Utah. She ranks second on the team in kills (2.02) and third in blocks (0.74) per set. Katarina Kosic, meanwhile, ranks eighth in the Big Sky with a .296 hitting percentage this season. She had nine kills against the Bengals, the majority of which came in the opening two sets.
• UP-AND-DOWN OFFENSE: The Vikings have hit .150 or worse in six of their last seven matches. The one exception was a .294 mark against Southern Utah in their 3-1 win over the Thunderbirds on Sept. 26. Kill production has been an issue at times. They averaged just 9.5 kills per set over their four matches before recording 50 kills over four sets against Southern Utah. They followed up with 52 and 54 kills against Weber State and Idaho State, respectively.
• BALANCED ATTACK: Seven different players have led the Vikings in kills over their first 15 matches of the season. Including ties, that list features Alivia Eikenberg (five times), Willow Watson (four times), Ashley Repetti (three times), Katarina Kosic (two times), Maryn Hall (two times), Brenna Coffman (once) and Jordyn Romano (once).
• NET PLAY: Head coach Michael Seemann said he hoped to see improvement this season in the Vikings' play at the net. The Vikings were up-and-down in that regard against two strong teams at the net last week. They had nine blocks against Weber State last Thursday, but then were out-blocked 15.0-to-4.0 by Idaho State last Saturday. The Vikings rank ninth in the Big Sky with 1.68 blocks per set this season.
• ROAD WOES: If true road matches were thrown out, the Vikings would be 5-2 this season. They're 2-1 at home and 3-1 at neutral sites, but they're 0-8 on the road. Away matches have been a struggle the last two seasons for the Vikings within Big Sky play. The Vikings were 2-6 on the road against conference opponents in 2024 and 2025.
• YA DIG?: The Vikings rank sixth in the Big Sky with 14.3 digs per set. The Vikings have finished with 60+ digs in four straight matches, a benchmark they hadn't hit since the opening week of the season before that stretch.
• IMPORTANCE OF FIRST SET: Both results last week played against type in that the Vikings won the opening set in both matches but lost each time. The Vikings are still 5-3 this season when winning the first set versus 0-7 when losing the opener. 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 OPENERS: The Vikings' five-set match at Idaho State was their first five-setter since the opening weekend of the season. The Vikings split two five-set matches to kick off their season, losing at Portland on Aug. 28 before turning around and beating Nevada two days later.
• DEUCE SETS: The Vikings have already played 13 sets decided by two points this season. The Vikings are 5-8 in those sets. They're 1-3 in matches where they lose the majority of the two-point sets, 1-1 in matches where they evenly split the two-point sets, and 0-2 in matches where they won the majority.
• EXTRA-POINT SETS: The Vikings have played six sets that went past 25 points, going 3-3 in those six. 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 13 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.
• CHASING 300: Seemann needs only two more wins to reach 300 overall in his career. When he does, he'll be the third different 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 eight 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 the majority 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.