Vikings Take Seven-Match Win Streak into Final Home Weekend against Idaho State, Weber State

FIRST SERVE
One of the most remarkable things about the Portland State volleyball team's seven-match win streak – the program's longest since 2013 – is that four of the seven wins have come on the road. The win streak started on the road at Eastern Washington on Oct. 17, and the Vikings added two more road wins last week at Montana State and Montana.

It was the program's first sweep of the Montana road trip since 2021 and included a five-set win at Montana Saturday. The five-set win over the Grizzlies was the team's third five-setter during the current win streak. Besides the Grizzlies, the Vikings also beat Northern Arizona in five sets on the road on Oct. 20, while they beat Northern Colorado in five sets at home on Oct. 24.

The Vikings have cruised to some victories during the win streak – 3-0 sweeps of Eastern Washington (Oct. 17), Idaho (Oct. 31) and Montana State (Nov. 5), for instance – but the streak has more often been a series of gut checks that the Vikings have passed.

They'll face two more gut checks this week, as they host Idaho State Thursday (7 p.m.) and Weber State Saturday (5 p.m.) at Viking Pavilion.

The Vikings lost to both teams on the road earlier in the season. Their loss to Idaho State on Oct. 3 strung particularly hard as the Vikings were up 2-0 in that match before the Bengals came back to win in five. The Vikings had success early going to their middle and right-side hitters. Middle blockers Brenna Coffman and Reese Biesemeyer, together with right-side hitter Katarina Kosic, accounted for 11 of the team's first 13 kills in the match.

But the Bengals – one of the best defenses nationally, let alone the Big Sky Conference – adjusted, covering the right side of the net and slowing the Portland State offense after the opening two sets. They outhit the Vikings .309-to-.022 over the final three sets while out-blocking them 15.0-to-4.0 over the whole match.

The Vikings have found more production from their left-side hitters since that match, which should change the balance of the team's attack. Ashley Repetti has recorded 10+ kills in the last four matches, including career highs for kills (15) and digs (17) while hitting .308 against Montana last Saturday. Fellow left-side Alivia Eikenberg had a streak of four straight matches with double-digit kills snapped when Montana held her to nine, but she still has strong matches in her recent history. She had 11 kills on .435 hitting in the Vikings' sweep of Idaho, while she followed with 13 kills on .290 hitting in the team's sweep of Montana State.

Coffman and Biesemeyer have stayed hot from the middle. They're both coming off a career or season high against Montana. Coffman set her career high with 12 kills, while Biesemeyer added a season-high 11 kills on .500 hitting.

The recent balance – fueled by setter Ava Blascziek – has meant the Vikings have posted better hitting numbers recently. After nine straight matches hitting under .200, the Vikings hit .300+ in back-to-back matches. Their .395 mark against Idaho represented their best hitting percentage in four years, while they followed with a .305 mark against Montana State. They stayed above .200 against Montana, hitting .234 against the Grizzlies.

The Viking offense will be tested against the Bengals, who lead the Big Sky and rank third nationally with 17.7 digs per set. They also rank fourth in the conference and in the top 50 nationally for blocks per set (2.55) and opponent hitting percentage (.176).

Libero Aspen Boice leads the conference and ranks 12th nationally with 4.82 digs per set individually. Jaydin Watts, meanwhile, ranks second in the conference with 1.27 blocks per set while also leading the conference with a .391 hitting percentage.

Weber State presents its own challenges at the net. The Wildcats rank third in the Big Sky with 2.55 blocks per set, while they also rank third in hitting percentage at .233. Ziya Munyer leads the Wildcats in both categories, as she stands third in the conference in both blocks per set (1.23) and hitting percentage (.371).

The Wildcats outhit the Vikings .273-to-.138 in their previous match against each other, which was a four-set win for the Wildcats. Weber State put three players in double figures for kills in that match between Lexie Carlson (15), Tennille Gonder (14) and Munyer (11).

That match came back on Oct. 1, and the Vikings followed with their loss to Idaho State two days later. Those two were the 10th and 11th straight road loss for the Vikings at the time. They'd extend that to 12 straight with a 3-1 loss at Idaho on Oct. 15. But that's where it would end as the Vikings broke through against the Eagles on Oct. 17 and haven't looked back.

MATCH #26: PORTLAND STATE (13-12, 9-5) vs. IDAHO STATE (17-9, 9-5)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Thursday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE:

The Idaho State Bengals snapped Utah Tech's 16-match winning streak with a 3-1 victory over the Trailblazers last Thursday. Utah Tech had two set points to push the match to a fifth set, but the Bengals saved both, then converted on their third match point to win the fourth set, 29-27. They followed the upset win with a 3-1 home victory over Southern Utah.
The 2-0 home weekend snapped a three-match losing streak for the Bengals, all of which came on the road. They lost in four sets to Montana State and Weber State on Oct. 24 and 27, respectively, then fell in three sets at Northern Colorado on Halloween. The Bengals have generally been a good road team this season, though, as they're 6-4 in away matches despite their recent road losses.
Statistically, the Bengals represent a very strong defensive team. They lead the Big Sky and rank third nationally with 17.7 digs per set. They also rank fourth in the league and in the top 50 nationally for blocks per set (2.55) and opponent hitting percentage (.176).
Libero Aspen Boice leads the back row of the Bengals' defense. She leads the Big Sky and ranks 12th nationally with 4.82 digs per set individually. Middle blockers Jaydin Watts and Isabella Beatty lead the Bengals at the net as they rank second and seventh with 1.27 and 0.99 blocks per set, respectively.
Offensively, the Bengals rank fourth in the conference in kills per set (12.7) and sixth in hitting percentage (.195).
Mia Walsh leads the Bengals with 2.70 kills per set individually. Watts ranks second on the team with 2.53 kills per set. Watts also leads the Big Sky and ranks 32nd nationally with a .391 hitting percentage.
Watts led the Bengals with 15 kills on .464 hitting in their five-set win over the Vikings in Pocatello on Oct. 3. Walsh had 13 kills on .324 hitting. The Bengals out-blocked the Vikings 15.0-to-4.0 in the match, most of which came over the final three sets.

SERIES NOTES:

The Vikings lost to the Bengals in five sets on Oct. 3, losing the final three sets after going up 2-0.
The Vikings still lead the all-time series between them and the Bengals, 42-30, as well as the Big Sky series, 30-28.
The Vikings swept the season series last season, winning in three sets at home on Sept. 25 and in four sets on the road on Nov. 1.
The Vikings are 21-13 all-time at home against the Bengals.

MATCH #27: PORTLAND STATE (13-12, 9-5) vs. WEBER STATE (15-9, 8-6)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Saturday, Nov. 14, 5 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
SCOUTING WEBER STATE:

The Weber State Wildcats split their home stand against Southern Utah and Utah Tech last weekend, sweeping Southern Utah before losing in three sets to Utah Tech. The Wildcats played three five-setters out of four total matches over the previous two weekends. They went 1-2 in those five-set matches, losing at home to Montana State on Oct. 22 and on the road at Northern Colorado on Oct. 29. They beat Montana in five sets on the road on Oct. 24.
Statistically, the Wildcats have been strongest at the net as both a high-ranked blocking team and an efficient offense. They rank third in the Big Sky with 2.55 blocks per set, while also ranking third with a .233 hitting percentage. Ziya Munyer leads the Wildcats in both categories, as she stands third in the conference in both blocks per set (1.23) and hitting percentage (.371).
Offensively, the Wildcats rank seventh in the Big Sky with 12.1 kills per set. Rose Moore and Lexie Carlson provide a 1-2 punch with 3.46 and 3.20 kills per set, respectively, ranking them fifth and sixth in the conference.
Defensively, outside of their strength at the net, the Wildcats rank seventh in the Big Sky in opponent hitting percentage (.203) and eighth in digs per set (14.2). Marly Pratt leads the Wildcats' back row with 4.40 digs per set.
The Wildcats outhit the Vikings .273-to-.138 in their last match against each other on Oct. 1. Carlson, Tennille Gonder and Munyer led the team with 15, 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Munyer hit .429 against the Vikings while also recording nine blocks in the match.

SERIES NOTES:

The Vikings lost 3-1 on the road to the Wildcats on Oct. 1. It was the Wildcats' fifth win over the Vikings out of their last six matches. The one exception in that recent run came at Viking Pavilion on Nov. 21, 2024, when the Vikings won in four sets. That was also the last home match for the Vikings against the Wildcats, as they only played once on the road last season.
The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Wildcats, 41-28. They also lead the Big Sky series, 29-26.
The Vikings are 22-9 all-time against the Wildcats at home.

QUICK HITTERS
Team Notes

LAST WEEK: The Vikings extended their win streak to seven matches with a pair of wins over Montana State, 3-0, and Montana, 3-2, last week. They've now won four in a row on the road.
WIN STREAK FACTS: The Vikings' seven-match win streak matches their longest win streak since the Vikings tied a Division I program record by winning 10 in a row from Oct. 28 to Nov. 29, 2013. The Vikings also won seven in a row between Oct. 1-27, 2022. The longest streak of Big Sky wins in program history stands at nine, which the Vikings have done twice between 2009 and 2013. They can tie that with two wins at home this week.
DOING THE HARD THINGS: Head coach Michael Seemann said after his team's win over Northern Colorado on Oct. 24 that the Vikings were "doing hard things." During their current 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; sweeping their Montana road trip for the first time since 2021; having other people step up after leading attacker Maryn Hall went down with an injury against 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.
RESURGENT OFFENSE: The Vikings hadn't hit over .200 in nine straight matches before breaking out with a .395 hitting percentage against Idaho on Oct. 31. That represented their best mark since they hit .471 in another win over Idaho on Nov. 10, 2022. The Vikings followed up with a .305 hitting percentage at Montana State this past Thursday, then hit .234 against Montana Saturday. The Vikings are 7-1 when hitting .200 or better this season.
IMPROVED DEFENSE: The Vikings have held their last four opponents all under .200 hitting. That stretch includes the best defensive performance in 12 years when they held Idaho to negative-.022 hitting in their win on Halloween. That marked the first time the Vikings have held an opponent in the negative since Oct. 11, 2014, when they held the Eagles to negative-.036 hitting.
MILESTONE WATCH: Senior setter Ava Blascziek needs 21 assists this weekend to reach the 2,000-career milestone. She hit 1,000 career assists against Eastern Washington last season.
OFFENSIVE BALANCE: The Vikings have put multiple players in double figures in their last five matches. Four different players hit better than .400 in the Vikings' sweep of Idaho. Left sides Alivia Eikenberg and Ashley Repetti recorded 11 kills each while hitting .435 and .417, respectively. Middle blockers Reese Biesemeyer and Brenna Coffman also hit .615 and .455 while recording nine and five, respectively. The middle blockers both set season or career highs against Montana Saturday. Coffman set a career high with 12 kills while Biesemeyer set a season high with 11 kills on .500 hitting.
THE REPETTI SUPREMACY: Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Repetti set career highs for points (15) and digs (17) while hitting .308 against Montana Saturday. She was the third different Viking to record a 15-15 match this season, joining teammates Alivia Eikenberg and Maryn Hall. Repetti has recorded 10+ kills in four straight matches, and has hist .250+ in the last three of those.
IT'S SERVING ACES: The Vikings' current win streak included a season-high 14 aces against Northern Colorado on Oct. 24. Magdalena Ranitovic led the way with six aces, including five in a row in the fifth set to turn a tenuous 5-2 PSU lead into a sizable 10-2 advantage. As a team this season, the Vikings lead the Big Sky and rank 122nd nationally with 1.55 aces per set. Ava Blascziek ranks fourth in the conference individually with 0.38 aces per set. Ranitovic averages 0.50 aces per set but has only played in 28 sets of the team's 95 sets.
MENDOZA LINE: While the Vikings beat Northern Colorado recently despite the Bears hitting .240 against them, they are still better off this season when holding opponents below .200 hitting. The Vikings are 12-2 this season when doing so. They're a perfect 4-0 when holding their opponent below .100 hitting.
VERSATILITY IN FORMATION: The Vikings switched into a 6-2 in the third set of their match at Montana, and the formation change helped carry them to a set victory and a 2-1 lead in the match. Then when the defense suffered in the fourth set, the Vikings switched back to a 5-1 and won the fifth set using that. It was a microcosm of the season as the Vikings have shown their ability to win in either a 5-1 or 6-2 formation.
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 3.58 digs per set, ranking her eighth in the conference. Stepaniuk has been the primary libero for the majority of the last 10 matches, however, and is averaging 3.79 digs per set over those 10 matches.
BIESEMEYER GOES BEAST MODE: Junior middle blocker Reese Biesemeyer appeared to turn a corner early in Big Sky play when she 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 1.20 blocks per set within Big Sky play while stringing together her best run of play to date as a Viking. She now ranks among the conference leaders in both hitting percentage (7th, .330) and blocks per set (6th, 1.04).
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 5-1 this season when Watson records 10+ kills in a match, including 4-0 within Big Sky play. Katarina Kosic, meanwhile, is averaging 1.78 kills per set on .250 hitting as a freshman. She had five kills in the third set alone Saturday at Montana while leading the Vikings to a crucial set win.
OLIGARCHY OF OFFENSE: Seven different players have led the Vikings in kills this season. Including ties, that list features Alivia Eikenberg (10 times), Maryn Hall (six times), Ashley Repetti (five times), Willow Watson (four times), Katarina Kosic (two times), Brenna Coffman (once) and Jordyn Romano (once).
ROAD WOES TO ROAD WARRIORS: The Vikings started this season 0-9 on the road. Going back to their last three road matches of last season, the Vikings had lost 12 straight on the road before breaking through with a 3-0 sweep of Eastern Washington. The Vikings followed with a hard-fought, five-set win over Northern Arizona on Oct. 20, then swept their road trip to Montana State and Montana for the first time since 2021. Their four conference road wins are their most in four seasons, going back to 2022 when they went 5-3 on the road.
YA DIG?: The Vikings set a season high with 98 digs in their five-set win over Northern Arizona on Oct. 20. They now rank seventh in the Big Sky with 14.7 digs per set.
IMPORTANCE OF FIRST SET: While the Vikings came back to beat Northern Colorado on Oct. 24, the numbers still show that the Vikings are much better off when winning the first set. They're 12-4 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 have won three five-sets matches in a row, all of which have come during the Vikings' seven-match win streak. They beat Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado in back-to-back five-set matches on Oct. 20 and 24, respectively, then topped Montana in five sets on the road this past Saturday. They're 4-2 in five-setters now this season. They're 2-0 in five-set matches at home while they're 2-2 in five-set road matches.
DEUCE SETS: The Vikings have played 20 sets decided by two points this season. The Vikings are 9-11 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 1-3 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 hit another milestone with the Vikings' 3-2 win at Montana on Nov. 7. That gave him 200 Big Sky Conference wins in his career. Seemann is the first Viking head coach in any sport to reach 200 Big Sky wins. 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.