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THIS WEEK: Portland State returns to the Park Blocks for just one match this week, but it’s a big one as they welcome in Eastern Washington on Friday. The Vikings are alone in first place in the Big Sky, one-half game up on Northern Colorado, and one game up on the Eagles. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Stott Center.

MATCH No. 24
Portland State (16-7, 10-2 Big Sky) vs. Eastern Washington (15-8, 9-3 Big Sky)
Friday, Nov. 6  -  7 p.m.  - Stott Center

COVERAGE
Live stats: GoViks.com
Live audio/video: Big Sky TV (www.BigSkyTV.org)
Play-by-play: Teri Mariani

HONORING A LEGEND: Long-time Portland State coach Jeff Mozzochi will be honored during the 10-minute break on Friday for his many years of service and outstanding accomplishments. The winningest all-time coach in Vikings volleyball history, Mozzochi will be leaving the Portland State sidelines after this season to move into an administrative role in the athletic department. Following the match there will be a no-host gathering at Paccini’s on Portland State’s campus.

PORTLAND STATE vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON SERIES NOTES: Despite the fact that the Eagles have a commanding 23-4 lead in Big Sky matches, the series has been even as of late. Over the past six meetings it is all knotted up at 3-3, with the Vikings winning the past two. Last year, EWU swept the regular season matches, before the Vikings defeated them in the Big Sky Tournament to advance to the NCAAs. Earlier this year, Portland State earned its first-ever win in Cheney during Big Sky competition (14 matches), and its first “W” there since 1985. At the Stott Center, the Vikings have won three of the past four regular season matchups, with their only loss coming last season. 

A QUICK RECAP OF LAST WEEK: The Vikings went on the road and continued their hot play, sweeping Montana and Montana State. Portland State picked up its fifth win in a row after defeating MSU, all of which have been sweeps. It was also the Vikings 10th straight win over both schools.

VOJNOVIC NAMED BSC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Marija Vojnovic Was been named the Big Sky Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for matches played the week of Oct. 26-Nov. 2. The senior outside hitter helped the Vikings to a pair of road wins at Montana and Montana State this past weekend. Vojnovic averaged 4.00 kills, 3.17 digs, 0.50 service aces and 4.67 points, while hitting .339. She racked up 24 kills and had just four errors on 59 attempts. On Friday at Montana, she registered her seventh double-double of the season with a match-high 12 kills and 10 digs. She also chipped in two block assists and a match-leading 13.0 points, and hit .300. Vojnovic followed that up with a 12-kill, nine-dig performance at Montana State the next night. She hit .379, and led all players with three aces and 15.0 points. This is Vojnovic’s second career honor and the third of the season for the Vikings. Senior setter Nique Fradella was a back-to-back winner early this year (Sept. 7 & 14).

THE BIG SKY RACE: After sweeping a pair of conference games last weekend and Eastern Washington falling at Montana, the Vikings (10-2) are now alone in first place with a one-half game lead over Northern Colorado (9-2). EWU, meanwhile, fell into third place at 9-3. UNC has played one fewer game than both the Vikings and Eagles, but will catch up this weekend when they host Montana and Montana State. PSU and Eastern meet up this Friday in what should be one of the better Big Sky matches of the season.

AMONG THE NATION’S BEST: Several Portland State players are ranked among the nation’s best, statistically speaking. Whitney Phillips moved down two spots this week to sixth in kills per set (4.76) and down five spots in points per set to 13th (5.13). Senior setter Nique Fradella remained 14th in assists per set (11.49), and senior MB Erica Jepsen is up one spot to fourth in blocks per set (1.57). Jepsen is also ranked 90th in hitting percentage (.331). Finally, junior MB Lana Zielke moved down from 19th to 32nd in hitting percentage (.368). As a team, PSU ranks in the top 100 in five categories: 17th in assists (13.25 aps), 22nd in kills (14.08 kps), 45th in blocks (2.40 bps), 50th in hitting percentage (.242) and 65th in won-loss percentage (.696).

MATCHING THE PAST: At 10-2 in Big Sky action, the Vikings have matched the 2006 and 2007 squads for the best start in school history since they joined the conference in 1996. The ‘05 and ‘08 teams both were 9-3 at this point in the season.

HOT HITTERS: Portland State has put up some mighty impressive numbers in its past five matches, all of which have been sweeps. PSU has hit a combined .330 and averaged 16.73 kps, while their opponents have hit just .149 and averaged only 10.93 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 (5.20 kps) and Marija Vojnovic (3.93 kps) have been pacing the offense over that span, while four players have some impressive hitting numbers: Erica Jepsen (.439), Lana Zielke (.426), Christie Hamilton (.400), and Vojnovic (.306).

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 50th after ranking 53rd last week. They were 76th two weeks ago. The Viks have hit over .300 eight times this season after doing so just three times last year. PSU ranks second in the Big Sky with a .242 percentage, while their .266 mark in conference matches ranks them first.

ON A ROLL: After a tough opening weekend in which they lost their first three matches, the Viks have gone 16-4, and won 14 of their past 16 matches. Their 16-4 record is even more impressive when you factor in that two of those losses came to nationally-ranked opponents (No. 3 Washington, No. 12 Oregon).

EVENING THEIR RECORD: Portland State finally got back on track Sept. 11-12 in Reno and evened its record at 5-5 after starting the year 2-5. The Vikings had a winning record through 10 matches in each of the past six seasons leading up this year. Not since 2002 had the team been at 5-5 at that juncture. Many of their losses can be chalked up to the fact that they played a demanding preseason schedule. The Viks faced three teams that reached the 2008 NCAA Tournament (Delaware, Oregon, Washington) and two of those teams were ranked in the top 15, including No. 3 Washington and then-No. 12 Oregon.

PSU IN THE RPI RANKINGS: The Vikings moved up 10 spots to No. 100 in this week’s NCAA RPI rankings, and are once again the highest ranked team in the Big Sky. One week after losing that distinction to Northern Colorado, the Viks are three spots ahead of the Bears this week. This week’s opponent, Eastern Washington, is ranked 125th.

SWEEPING BY THE OPPOSITION: Over the past four seasons (2006-09), 31 of PSU’s 48 conference wins over have come via the sweep. Overall over the past three years (2007-current), 38 of their 57 wins have been by the sweep.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: PSU has gone 34-2 at home in Big Sky Conference matches over the past five seasons (7-0 in 2005, 8-0 in 2006, 8-0 in 2007, 6-2 in 2008, 5-0 in 2009). The Viks had a 29-match home conference winning streak that started in 2005 and lasted until a 3-2 loss vs. Sac State on Oct. 17, 2008. Overall since 2005, PSU has gone 47-6 at home and has lost just 37 sets, including only two in 2007.

BIG SHOES TO FILL: Libero Jalen Pendon-Thomas is the lone starter gone from last year’s NCAA Tournament team. She was a key reason why the Viks ranked among the nations best teams in digs (17th). The DS/L ranked 35th in the nation in digs at 4.86 dps, and she collected double-digits in digs in all 29 matches. Pendon-Thomas’ loss has hit the Vikings hard early this year as they struggled to find a replacement at the libero position. Sophomore Nicole Bateham has been plugged into that spot for much of the past 20 matches after not traveling to New Mexico with the team. She has responded by tallying double-digits in digs in 14 matches and leading the squad 13 times. Three weekend’s ago at Northern Colorado she matched her career-high with 24 digs, and she has also posted 21 digs twice this year. 

ZIELKE STEPS UP: Since the start of conference play, junior MB Lana Zielke has become a force in the middle for the Viks. Zielke has averaged 2.10 kps and 0.77 bps while hitting .397 in PSU’s 12 Big Sky matches. That is compared to averages of 1.38 kps, 0.72 bps and a .294 hitting percentage in the team’s first 10 matches of the year (all non-conference). Against UC Davis on Sept. 12, Zielke tallied 10 kills and didn’t commit an attack error on 13 attempts to shatter the Vikings four-set hitting record of .647 that was held by two players. Overall, her .769 percentage is the third-best mark ever by a PSU player. Zielke then hit .750 (12-0-16) at Idaho State on Sept. 26. That mark is tied for No. 4 all-time at Portland State and is also tied for the second-best mark ever during a three-set match by a Viking. Additionally, it is the second-best percentage in the conference this year (the BSC requires a minimum 12 kills for records).  This past Saturday vs. Weber State, she hit .611 (12-1-18), which is the fifth-best in the BSC this year.