PORTLAND, Ore. — May we all hope to be as open to new ideas 20 years into our job as Portland State head volleyball coach Michael Seemann. The dean of Portland State coaches, who is seven wins shy of 300 in his career, didn't settle for same old, same old fall camp plan.
 
"I think there's teaching and learning fatigue, you know, when you're doing the same thing over and over. We all know what we have to work on and we can either just keep talking about it and keep asking them to do it or keep giving them the same feedback, or we can try something else. And I think that trying something else right now is working," Seemann said.
 
The "something else" Seemann referred to is a new training plan that moves away from isolated drills and more mini-games and simulated matches that teach players in the context of an actual match situation.
 
"We've taken a much more ecological approach [to training]," Seemann said of the training change. "Less focused on a single drill and trying to give technical feedback, and more focused on using our bodies in different ways, asking them to find solutions. We're trying to build, I think, stronger athletes that are less reliant on coaching or less reliant on outside help in terms of problem solving, which is a big ask."
 
It's been working so far. The Vikings stifled Seattle U in its home gym in a 3-1 exhibition win this past Saturday. The better proof will come this weekend, when the Vikings open their season with a cross-town rivalry match at University of Portland Friday at 6 p.m., before hosting Nevada at 1 p.m. Sunday.
 
What lineup the Vikings will use in either match is anyone's guess, including Seemann. The coach joked about rolling out two wildly different lineups from one match to the next. He has the roster size to do it as the Vikings will carry an 18-player roster this season for the first time in program history. Seventeen of those 18 players played in Saturday's exhibition at Seattle U. Among those, 12 recorded at least one kill in the match. Alivia Eikenberg led the Vikings with eight kills, but six different Vikings totaled at least five in the match.
 
The 18-player roster is part of the reason why Seemann opted for more live reps during fall camp.
 
"I'm looking at 18 people and I'm like, I can't have drill group one, two, three, four, you know what I'm saying? So, let's play and let the game teach a little bit more," Seemann said.
 
The roster size has brought its own challenges. Even as the Vikings returned five starters off last year's team plus libero Paige Stepaniuk, Seemann hasn't separated the team into a first team, second team and beyond. Everybody's playing with everybody. That's elevated everybody's game, but it's also meant the connection between setter and hitter, by Seemann's own admission, won't be as deep as it could be come Friday's season opener.
 
"On one hand, I'm glad I don't really have an, 'okay, this is our lineup and this is who we are.' On the other hand, I wish there were more solid pieces where I was like, 'I know this is good. She's gonna be here.' I have some idea, but I still have more questions than answers," Seemann said.
 
Even if the Vikings' don't know exactly who they'll have playing Friday, they know they have quality players across the board. Seemann said this year's team is the deepest he's had in recent years. Not just in terms of numbers, of course, but the talent at every position.
 
Stepaniuk would be the Vikings' most known quantity. She'll enter her fourth year as the Vikings' starting libero, having played in 81 matches for the team already. Stepaniuk ranked fourth in the Big Sky with 4.10 digs per set last season, which was a career-best average for her.
 
Stepaniuk should help lead what Seemann hopes will be a better year from the Viking defense. The Vikings struggled to slow opponents down at times. They ranked eight out of 10 teams in the Big Sky Conference last season in opponent hitting percentage (.223). That was often the best bellwether for the Vikings last season. They went 6-1 within Big Sky play when holding their opponent below .200 hitting and 1-8 when their opponent hit above .200.
 
Seemann pointed to Stepaniuk and a talented group of defensive specialists behind her – sophomore Jessica Turong and freshmen Alyssandra Ordona and Xanthe Ocampo – as things that could change that this year.
 
"The number one thing that stands out to me is it is harder to score [during live play in practice]. And those are due to those DSs in the back just scooping things up. I mean, some of the play that I've seen, I'm just like… I say it to people all the time, but this is true now more than ever, this is going to be a really exciting team to watch because those DSs are just getting stuff out that you didn't even think was possible. And that's going to keep us in rallies," Seemann said.
 
The back row players will have to be ready from the start of the year as Seemann expects the team's block to take some time to develop.
 
That was the group most devastated by injury last season. Willow Watson – a middle blocker/right-side hitter – went down with a season-ending injury against Sacramento State on Oct. 3. Reese Biesemeyer then suffered the same injury during the Vikings' regular-season finale at Eastern Washington.
 
Both players are back now. Watson joins a group that also includes Jordyn Romano and Brenna Coffman as players who could play either in the middle or on the right. Biesemeyer and Katie Brewer figure to be more locked into the middle. Brewer, for her part, came in after Biesemeyer went down last year and recorded nine kills on .421 hitting in the Vikings' Big Sky quarterfinal match against Sacramento State.
 
Still, the Vikings will need to be better at the net this season after they ranked ninth in the Big Sky with 1.85 blocks per set a season ago.
 
"I wasn't pleased with our blocking last year. We were bottom third in the conference pretty much the whole year," Seemann said. "It takes a long time to be a good blocker for most people. I think we're physical enough to have terminal blocks. I just think tactically and timing and all the other things that make you a good blocker, that's going to take some time."
 
Offensively, Eikenberg figures to pick up where she left off after a standout freshman season. Eikenberg made the All-Big Sky First Team last year, becoming the first Viking freshman to do so since Garyn Schlatter in 2010. She earned the honor after ranking third in the conference with 3.82 kills per set.
 
Eikenberg accounted for more than a quarter of the Vikings' kills and attempts last season. As impressive as that was, Seemann hopes the Vikings will have better distribution this season.
 
Offense from the right side of the net dried up last season when Watson went down. She's back now, and the Vikings added two left-handed freshmen in Katelyn Davey and Katarina Kosic who could see lots of time this season.
 
The Vikings also figure to have more weapons alongside Eikenberg on the left. Ashley Repetti returns as a sophomore this season while the Vikings brought in two freshmen Seemann is high on in Maryn Hall and Magdalena Ranitovic.
 
Setters Ava Blascziek, Elisabeth Levick and Asya Akbulut will stir the drink for the Viking offense. As with every position, Seemann has shuffled them around in fall camp. That's led to some growing pains as hitters develop their connections with all three, but that's what preseason is for.
 
The Vikings' preseason schedule will get the team's youth experience in a hurry. After this weekend's opening matches in Portland, the Vikings hit the road for their farthest trip east since 2004 when they head to the Chicago area for a mid-week match against DePaul on Sept. 2, then three matches at the NIU Tournament, Sept. 4-5.
 
The long trip makes it a good thing the Vikings like each other. In lieu of a team retreat this year, Seemann noted that the team has relied on a big sister/little sister program where paired players leave each other treats in their lockers or say something nice about the other in front of the group.
 
And the odd Love Island watch party has helped bond the team, too, of course.
 
"I think the entire culture and environment in the gym is great. It's very positive, and I don't overuse that word," Seemann said.
 
That's a credit to a 20-year veteran still looking for new ways to better teach his favorite game.
 
MATCH #1: PORTLAND STATE (0-0) vs. PORTLAND (0-0)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Friday, Aug. 28, 6 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center)
SCOUTING PORTLAND:

• The Portland Pilots head into their seventh season under head coach Megan Burton picked to finish eighth in the 10-team West Coast Conference this season.
• The Pilots are coming off a year in which they went 14-15 overall and 9-9 in WCC play. Their nine conference wins were their most since 2016.
• Two players received preseason honors from the WCC in setter Havannah Hoeft and outside hitter Maui Robins. Both were All-WCC First-Team picks last season.
• The Pilots were a strong offensive team last season, ranking fourth in the WCC in both aces per set (1.67) and hitting percentage (.229). Hoeft led the offense while ranking third in the WCC with 8.84 assists per set. She also tied Robins for the team lead with 31 aces (0.30 per set) last season.
• The Pilots lost their leading attacker off last year's team in Elin Larsson, who ranked ninth in the Big Sky with 3.03 kills per set on .239 hitting. Robins wasn't far behind her, though, with 2.88 kills per set on .119 hitting.
• Taina Kaauwai returns for the Pilots this season after ranking third in the WCC and 40th nationally with a .379 hitting percentage. Kaauwai's high hitting percentage came on 1.76 kills per set.
• Defensively, the Pilots ranked ninth in the WCC in blocks per set (1.82), as well as 10th in digs per set (12.6) and opponent hitting percentage (.242).

SERIES NOTES:

• The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Pilots, 36-21. The series is tied 13-13 at UP's Chiles Center.
• The Pilots won the last meeting between the two teams, 3-1, at the Chiles Center in 2022.
• The Vikings' last victory in the series came 3-1 at home in 2021.

 
MATCH #2: PORTLAND STATE (0-0) vs. NEVADA (0-0)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Sunday, Aug. 30, 1 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
SCOUTING NEVADA:

• The Nevada Wolf Pack were picked to finish ninth in the 10th-team Mountain West Conference this season.
• The Wolf Pack are coming off an 8-20 record overall last season and 4-14 within Mountain West play. They finished the season on a five-game losing streak.
• Jason Borchin took over as Nevada's head coach this past December, after helping lead Cal Poly to back-to-back Big West titles. Cal Poly made the NCAA Sweet 16 last fall with Borchin as associate head coach.
• The Wolf Pack lost their leading attacker from last season in Haylee Brown, who led the Wolf Pack and ranked fourth in the Mountain West with 3.55 kills per set.
• Among the impact transfers Borchin brought in were Paige Thies and Keely Hummel. Thies, a 6-2 outside hitter originally from Oregon City, Ore., transferred into Nevada from Arizona. Hummel, meanwhile, will be a junior setter for the Wolf Pack this season after transferring from Fresno State.
• The Wolf Pack ranked highest in aces last season, when they ranked fourth in the Mountain West with 1.47 aces per set. They ranked 11th or 12th in the conference in all other statistical categories.

SERIES NOTES:

• The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Wolf Pack, 6-3.
• Nevada has won its last two meetings with the Vikings, including a five-set comeback win at the Vikings' home tournament in 2024. The Vikings led that match 2-1 and were leading in the fourth set before an injury to one of the Vikings' middle blockers changed the momentum of the match and the Wolf Pack came back.
• The Vikings' last win over the Wolf Pack came in 2017, when they won in four sets at their second of two home tournaments that year.

 
QUICK HITTERS
Team Notes

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The Vikings will make their longest trip east since 2004 when they head to Chicago for a match at DePaul on Sept. 2, then a tournament at Northern Illinois, Sept. 4-5.
• 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.
• The Vikings struggled defensively last season, ranking eighth out of 10 teams in the Big Sky Conference in opponent hitting percentage (.223), and ninth in blocks per set (1.84).
• The Vikings ranked sixth in the Big Sky with 12.7 kills per set last season. Head coach Michael Seemann said the Vikings will hope for better distribution this year, as Alivia Eikenberg accounted for more than a quarter of the team's kills and attempts last season by herself.
• The Vikings were 8-1 when winning the first set last season versus 3-16 when losing the opener. Head coach Michael Seemann attributed that to the team's youth, as the Vikings had 11 underclassmen on their 16-player roster last season.
• One of the best bellwethers for the Vikings last season was their opponents' hitting percentage. The Vikings went 6-1 within Big Sky play when holding their opponent below .200 hitting and 1-8 when their opponent hit above .200.

 
Head Coach Michael Seemann

• 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.
• Seemann needs only seven 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).
• Seemann needs nine more Big Sky 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.

 
#2 Paige Stepaniuk

• Senior libero Paige Stepaniuk enters her fourth year as the Vikings' staring libero this fall. She ranks seventh all-time in career digs (1,114) and digs per set (3.71). If she matches her 459 digs as a junior, she will move up to fifth all-time this season.
• Stepaniuk ranked fourth in the Big Sky and 83rd nationally with 4.10 digs per set last season. The 4.10 digs-per-set average was a career best for Stepaniuk.
• Stepaniuk was a three-time Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week. One of the three times came after she led the Vikings to a 3-0 record at The Joust Tournament where she was named tournament MVP.
• Stepaniuk averaged a career-best 0.22 aces per set. That included a career-high six aces in the Vikings' five-set win at California Baptist on Sept. 12 last season.

 
#18 Alivia Eikenberg

• Sophomore outside hitter Alivia Eikenberg was named to the All-Big Sky First Team last season, becoming the first Viking freshman to make the first team since Garyn Schlatter in 2010.
• Eikenberg ranked fourth among all freshmen in NCAA Division I with 3.82 kills per set. She recorded 10+ kills in all 14 Big sky matches she played in. Additionally, three of her four 20-kill matches came within Big Sky play.
• Eikenberg recorded a career-high 28 kills on .380 hitting against Eastern Washington on Oct. 23 last season. That was the most kills by a Viking since Whitney Phillips had 28 against Montana State on Sept. 17, 2010.
• Eikenberg finished with 15 double-doubles last season, one shy of the freshman record of 16 that Melissa Osterloh set in 2004. She set five other single-season freshman records between kills (397), kills per set (3.82), attempts (1,134), points (435.5) and points per set (4.19).
• Eikenberg was named to the preseason All-Big Sky team before this season.

 
#20 Willow Watson

• Sophomore middle blocker/right-side Willow Watson had established herself in the Vikings' lineup as a freshman when she landed on an opponent's foot during the team's match against Sacramento State on Oct. 3. She missed the rest of the season with the injury, but will make her official return this week.
• Watson was named to the All-Tournament Team at The Joust Tournament, Sept. 11-13, last season. She recorded 14 kills on .609 hitting in the Vikings' 3-0 sweep of Cal State Fullerton. That completed a 3-0 sweep of the weekend for the Vikings, the program's first 3-0 tournament weekend since 2021.
• Watson averaged 1.81 kills per set on .270 hitting to go with 0.80 blocks per set last season.

 
#23 Ava Blascziek

• Senior setter Ava Blascziek will enter her second year with the Vikings this fall after transferring from Temple University.
• Blascziek ranked seventh in the Big Sky with 6.86 assists per set last season. She added 2.19 digs and 0.24 aces per set.
• Blascziek recorded 12 double-doubles on the season, ranking her second on the team in the category. She set a career high with 51 assists to go with 10 digs in the team's reverse sweep of Idaho on Oct. 25 last season.

 
#21 Reese Biesemeyer

• Junior middle blocker Reese Biesemeyer enters her third year as a starter this fall. She's coming off an injury she suffered in the regular-season finale against Eastern Washington, when she stepped on an opponent's foot under the net.
• Biesemeyer ranked 10th in the Big Sky with a .314 hitting percentage last season. The .314 hitting percentage came on 1.29 kills per set while she added 0.67 blocks and 0.12 aces per set.
• Biesemeyer was named to the All-Tournament Team at The Joust Tournament when the Vikings finished 3-0 at a tournament for the first time since 2021. Biesemeyer had six kills on .750 hitting to go with 4.0 blocks against previously unbeaten New Mexico to open the tournament.
• Biesemeyer set a career high with 12 kills on .500 hitting against eventual Big Sky champion Northern Arizona on Nov. 8 last season.