Complete Weekly Release (PDF)
THIS WEEK: The Portland State volleyball team heads to Big Sky Country this weekend for a pair of conference matches. The first-place Vikings play at Montana on Friday night and then travel east on I-90 to Montana State.
MATCH NO. 22
Portland State (14-7, 8-2 BSC) at Montana (9-11, 5-4 BSC)
Friday, Oct. 30 • 6 p.m. PT • Missoula, Mont.
MATCH NO. 23
Portland State (14-7, 8-2 BSC) at Montana State (3-15, 1-8 BSC)
Saturday, Oct. 31 • 6 p.m. PT • Bozeman, Mont.
COVERAGE
Live stats: GoViks.com
Live audio/video: Big Sky TV
A QUICK RECAP OF LAST WEEK: The Vikings put together one of their finest weekends of the season, sweeping Idaho State and Weber State at home. PSU hit a combined .366, including .438 against Weber State on Saturday. It was the first time the Vikings had hit over .400 since registering a .402 mark against Rutgers on Sept. 6, 2007. Portland State improved to 7-1 at home, including 5-0 in Big Sky matches. They won their seventh in a row at the Stott Center over the Wildcats, and their sixth in a row at home against ISU.
THE BIG SKY RACE: The race for the Big Sky regular season championship continues to be between three teams. Portland State and Eastern Washington sit at 8-2, while Northern Colorado is at 7-2 with four weeks to go. PSU has already played at EWU and UNC, while Eastern has already played at Northern Colorado. That means the Bears still have to play at PSU and EWU.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: Several Portland State players are ranked among the nation's best, statistically speaking. Whitney Phillips moved up two spots this week to fourth in kills per set (4.81) and up eight spots in points per set to eighth (5.19). Senior setter Nique Fradella is up six spots to 14th in assists per set (11.42), and senior MB Erica Jepsen is fifth in blocks per set (1.56) and 77th in hitting percentage (.338). Finally, junior MB Lana Zielke moved from 53rd to 19th in hitting percentage (.387). As a team, PSU ranks in the top 100 in five categories: 19th in assists (13.14 aps), 24th in kills (14.03 kps), 46th in blocks (2.43 bps), 53rd in hitting percentage (.240) and 81st in won-loss percentage (.667).
HOT HITTERS : Portland State has put up some mighty impressive numbers in its past three matches, all of which have been sweeps. PSU hit a combined .369 and averaged 18.00 kps, while their opponents hit just .189 and averaged only 10.89 kps. The Vikings tied their then-season-high with a .375 mark at NAU (10/17), then hit .303 vs. Idaho State (10/23) and .438 vs. Weber State (10/24). Whitney Phillips (5.89), Marija Vojnovic (3.89), and Erica Jepsen and Lana Zielke (3.00) have averaged at least 3.00 kills per set over that span. Zielke has hit .561, Jepsen .533, Phillips .319 and Vojnovic .284.
NEW YEAR, NEW NUMBERS: Last year, PSU finished with a .190 attack percentage, which ranked them 181st in the nation. This year is a completely different story, however. The Vikings continue to move up in the NCAA hitting percentage ranks and are a season-best 53rd after their .366 mark over the weekend. They were 76th last week. The Viks have hit over .300 in three straight matches and have gone over that mark eight times after doing so just three times last season. PSU ranks second in the Big Sky with a .240 percentage, while their .265 mark in conference matches ranks them first.
ON A ROLL: After a tough opening weekend in which they lost their first three matches, the Vikings have gone 14-4, and won 12 of their past 14 matches. Their 14-4 record over their past 18 matches is even more impressive when you take into account that two of those losses came to nationally-ranked opponents (No. 3 Washington, No. 12 Oregon).
PSU IN THE RPI RANKINGS: Despite their two victories over the weekend, the Vikings slipped five spots to No. 110 in this week's NCAA RPI rankings. They were also passed up by Northern Colorado for the highest ranking in the Big Sky, as the Bears are now at No. 104. This week's opponents, Montana and Montana State, are ranked 185th and 293rd, respectively.
AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT: Junior transfer Whitney Phillips has become the Vikings' go-to-player this season. Phillips earned all-tournament honors in all three preseason tournaments and is leading the Big Sky in kills (4.81 kps) and points (5.19 pps). She has led the team in kills in 19 of their 21 matches and has accumulated at least 20-kills seven times. Last season a PSU player went over the 20-kill mark just once. Phillips has also registered a team-high eight double-doubles. Her numbers are even more impressive in conference play, where she is averaging 5.34 kps and 5.71 pps, while hitting .267. This past weekend against Idaho State and Weber State, she averaged a remarkable 6.33 kps and 6.58 pps.
PHILLIPS A NEAR LOCK FOR DOUBLE-DIGITS IN KILLS: Whitney Phillips saw her conference-best streak of 15 straight matches with double-digits in kills come to an end on Oct. 7 at Seattle. It was the first time this season that Phillips failed to tally at least 10 kills in a match, but she still has accomplished the feat in 20 of PSU's 21 matches. Phillips finished with eight kills at Seattle, but also had just 26 total attacks, which was a season-low. Last season's longest streak by a Viking was Marija Vojnovic's 11 straight.
THAT'S MORE LIKE IT: A starter in her sophomore and junior campaigns, the Vikings were counting on big things from senior MB Erica Jepsen this season. While she hasn't played poorly this year, nothing compares to the numbers she has put up the past five matches. Over that span she is averaging 2.88 kills, 1.88 blocks and 3.94 points per set. She has also hit .441 and recorded double-digits in three of those matches. Jepsen hit .600 over PSU's two matches this past weekend, including an astounding .900 (9-0-10) vs. Weber State. Over the first 16 matches of the year, Jepsen averaged 1.43 kps, 1.41 bps and 2.22 pps, while hitting .282.
GOTTA WIN SET ONE: Looking closely at Portland State's record breakdown, one can easily see that winning the opening set has been the biggest key to the Vikings picking up a victory. The team is 11-0 when starting out a match by winning the first frame, but just 3-7 when losing the opening stanza. That was the case last season as well, as PSU went 18-1 when winning the first set.
VOJNOVIC JOINS THE RECORD BOOKS: Senior OH Marija Vojnovic cracked the PSU career top 10 in total attacks this past weekend. Vojnovic's 2,843 attacks put her alone in 10th place. She should move up at least two more spots by season's end, as she needs 110 more to take over ninth place and 134 to move up to eighth.
PORTLAND STATE vs. MONTANA SERIES NOTES: The Vikings hold a convincing 41-14 lead in the all-time series and have won nine in a row against the Lady Griz. While Montana has a 8-5 advantage in Big Sky matches in Missoula, the Vikings have won five of the past six there, with their only loss coming in 2004. With their sweep of the Grizzlies back on Sept. 19 in Portland, the Vikings now have a 15-12 lead in the conference series.
PORTLAND STATE vs. MONTANA STATE SERIES NOTES: Portland State has controlled this series of late as well and holds a 35-20-1 lead all-time. Despite the fact that Montana State leads the Big Sky series, 17-10, the Vikings have won nine straight against the Bobcats. MSU won the first nine conference matches in Bozeman, but Portland State has won the past four. The Vikings past three wins at MSU have been straight sets victories, while their past four wins overall have been via the sweep.
