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THIS WEEK: Portland State closes out the regular season this Friday at Sacramento State. The Vikings have already clinched the Big Sky regular season title and will enter the conference tournament in two weeks as the top seed.

MATCH NO. 27
Portland State (19-7, 13-2 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (16-14, 6-8 Big Sky)
Friday, Nov. 20  -  7 p.m.  -  Sacramento, Calif.

COVERAGE
Live stats: GoViks.com (Link: http://www.goviks.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?&temp_site=NO&DB_OEM_ID=19300)
Live audio/video: Big Sky TV (Link: http://www.b2tv.com/partner_members.asp?temp_site=NO&DB_OEM_ID=19300&id=269)

SEEKING A FIRST IN SACRAMENTO: When the Vikings play at Sac State on Friday they will be seeking their first-ever win in Sacramento. Portland State is 0-15 in the Hornets gym, include 0-13 in Big Sky matches. Earlier this season the Vikings were able to stop a similar losing streak, defeating Eastern Washington in Cheney for the first time ever during Big Sky play.

PORTLAND STATE vs. SACRAMENTO STATE SERIES NOTES: The Hornets controlled the series up until the past few seasons. The Vikings picked up their first win in Big Sky play against Sac State in 2006 and all four of their conference wins have come since then. Since 2006, the Hornets have just a 6-4 lead, which includes a Big Sky tourney match in 2007. Sac State leads the all-time series, 34-13, and the Big Sky series, 23-4. The Viks have never won in Sacramento. Earlier this season, PSU was a 3-1 winner in Portland.

A QUICK RECAP OF LAST WEEK: The Vikings continued their dominance of the past few weeks, sweeping both Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado at home. They have now won eight in a row, all via the sweep. The Vikings honored their five seniors prior to the match against NAU. Making their final appearances at the Stott Center were Nique Fradella, Erica Jepsen, Jennifer Oney, Lindsey Steele and Marija Vojnovic.

ANOTHER BIG SKY TITLE: With their win over Northern Colorado this past Saturday, the Vikings clinched their second Big Sky regular season title in the past three years. PSU also won the crown in 2007 and then finished second last season, before winning the conference tournament. 

BIG SKY TOURNAMENT INFO: Heading into the final week of play, Portland State, Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington have all secured spots in the Big Sky Tournament. Montana and Idaho State are fighting over the fourth and final spot. Sac State, meanwhile, will miss the tournament for the first time ever since they joined the conference in 1996. This will be the first year that the tourney only has four teams.

PHILLIPS NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK AGAIN (NOV. 16): For the second straight week, Portland State’s Whitney Phillips has been named the Big Sky Conference Volleyball Player of the Week. The junior outside hitter led the Vikings to the 2009 Big Sky regular season title this past weekend with wins over Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado. Phillips tallied double-doubles in both matches as the Vikings did not lose a set. Phillips averaged 5.17 kills, 3.67 digs and 5.33 points per set in the two matches. She racked up 16 kills and 11 digs against NAU on Friday night, then finished with 15 kills and 11 digs against Northern Colorado as the Vikings clinched the conference title. In both matches she led all players in kills and points.

THREE STRAIGHT FOR THE VIKS: Portland State players have collected the past three Big Sky Confernce Player of the Week awards. Marija Vojnovic won the award on Nov. 2, while Whitney Phillips has earned the recoginition the past two weeks on Nov. 9 and Nov. 16.

FIVE IN A ROW?: Last years 20-9 record marked the fourth straight year that Portland State had finished with 20 wins. The Vikings could pick up their 20th win of the season at Sac State on Friday. Over the past five years, Portland State has gone 102-40, going 21-9 in 2005, 21-7 in 2006, 21-8 in 2007 and 19-7 so far this year.

AMONG THE NATION’S BEST: Several Portland State players are ranked among the nation’s best, statistically speaking. Whitney Phillips remained fourth in kills per set (4.9) and moved up two spots in points per set to seventh (5.25). Senior setter Nique Fradella bumped up two spots to 11th in assists per set (11.66), and senior MB Erica Jepsen is down two spots to seventh in blocks per set (1.51). Jepsen is also ranked 46th in hitting percentage (.354), after ranking 95th a week ago. Finally, junior MB Lana Zielke is 61st in hitting percentage (.346). As a team, PSU ranks in the top 100 in five categories: 12th in assists (13.5 aps), 17th in kills (14.33 kps), 43rd in hitting percentage (.247), 47th in won-loss percentage (.731) and 51st in blocks (2.41 bps).

THE BIG SKY’S KILLS LEADER: Not only does outside hitter Whitney Phillips lead the Big Sky in kills, she also has accumulated five of the top 10 kills totals in a single match this season. Now, after racking up 25 vs. Eastern Washington on Nov. 6, she holds the conference-best marks for kills overall (28), kills in a 3-set match (25), kills in a four-set match (26) and kills in a five-set match (28).

MATCHING THE PAST: At 13-2 in Big Sky action, the Vikings have matched the 2006 squad for the best start in school history since they joined the conference in 1996. Should they win at Sac State on Friday, the Vikings will also match their best-ever conference record. The 2006 team holds that distinction as of now with a 14-2 mark.

24 AND COUNTING: Portland State’s eight straight sweeps means the Vikings have won 24 sets in a row. That is a program record at the Division I level, eclipsing the old mark of 16 straight sets won by the 2007 team. It is also the most since 1992, when Portland State swept nine straight matches and won 28 straight sets. Overall, the current streak is tied for the fourth-best in PSU history. The record is 48 sets in a row after the 1992 team racked up 15 straight sweeps. The 1988 squad is tied with this year’s team with eight sweeps and 24 straight sets won.

ON A ROLL: The Vikings enter this weekend on a roll, having won eight straight, all via the sweep, and 12 of their past 13. After a tough opening weekend in which they lost their first three matches, the Viks have gone 19-4, and won 17 of their past 19 matches. Their 19-4 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).

NOTABLE WINNING STREAKS: The Vikings current eight-match winning streak is tied for the second-longest in program history at the DI level. The 2007 squad won a record nine straight, while the ‘05 team also won eight in a row.

HOT HITTERS: Portland State has put up some mighty impressive hitting numbers in its past eight matches. PSU has hit a combined .314 and averaged 16.67 kps, while their opponents have hit just .154 and averaged only 11.21 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 (5.58 kps) and Marija Vojnovic (3.58 kps) have been pacing the offense over that span, while five players have some outstanding hitting numbers: Erica Jepsen (.458), Nique Fradella (.432), Christie Hamilton (.354), Lana Zielke (.337) and Phillips (.291).

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 43rd. They were 50th the past two weeks, and were 76th four weeks ago. The Viks have hit over .300 nine times this season after doing so just three times last year. PSU ranks first in the Big Sky with a .247 percentage, while their .270 mark in conference matches also ranks them first.

THE BIG SKY LEADERS: The Vikings took over the top spot in the Big Sky in hitting percentage this week with a .247 mark. Northern Colorado had been first place for much of the year. The Viks also lead the BSC in opponent hitting percentage (.170), assists (13.50) and kills (14.33).

SWEEPING BY THE OPPOSITION: This year, the Viks have 11 sweeps in conference play, which is a new school record at the DI level. They also have 14 sweeps overall on the season, which matches the top mark since they joined the Big Sky. The 2007 team had 14 straight sets victories, while the ‘05 and ‘08 teams had 13 sweeps. Over the past four seasons (2006-09), 34 of PSU’s 51 conference wins have come via the sweep. Overall over the past three years (2007-current), 41 of their 60 wins have been by the sweep.

PSU IN THE RPI RANKINGS: The Vikings are ranked a season-high 87th in this week’s NCAA RPI, one week after being 91st. That was the first time that PSU had been ranked higher than 100th. They are the highest ranked team in the Big Sky, with Northern Colorado next at No. 105. Sac State, this week’s opponent, is ranked 215th.