All business on the court

Megan Ellis understands what it takes to be a leader. A native of Burnaby, British Columbia, the junior outside hitter has taken on more of a leadership role with the Portland State volleyball team this season, standing out as the Vikings’ most consistent and threatening offensive weapon. This upcoming Saturday, the team will need all of Ellis’ ability and experience, as the Vikings will host Dam Cup rival the Eastern Washington Eagles at the Stott Center.

Portland State (8-11 overall, 4-3 conference) is coming off back-to-back losses in Big Sky play and sits in fourth place with Eastern Washington in the standings. The two teams will not only be battling for the Dam Cup trophy, but also for claim of the fourth place position in the Big Sky standings. The top four teams will qualify for the conference tournament at the end of November.

This Saturday’s match against Eastern Washington marks the end of the first round of Big Sky regular season. The Vikings have struggled to find a consistent rhythm in a season marked by big wins and tough losses.

Portland State pulled out an unexpected win over then-undefeated Northern Arizona to halt the Lumberjacks’ 12-match winning streak; however, the team followed up the victory with losses to Northern Colorado and Sacramento State.

“I just think our main goal is [remembering] the season isn’t over yet,” Ellis said. “We’re going to keep working hard to be successful and be one of the top four teams.”

Ellis has stepped up to become a major offensive force for the Vikings following the graduation of outside hitter Whitney Phillips. Ellis currently is leading the team in kills with 235 and kills per set with a 3.31 average. She is responsible for 248 points on the court and averages 3.49 points per set. In 2010, Ellis finished fourth on the team in kills and totaled 220 points for the entire season.

While Ellis may be most recognized for her offensive prowess, the outside hitter said that her main focus is on constantly improving her overall performance.

“I’ve been working to develop all aspects of my game,” Ellis said. “I’ve improved a lot offensively this year, which is one of the ways I’ve grown this season, but I’ve been working hard for three years to develop myself as an all-around player.”

Ellis has backed up her talk on the court, showing she can be a dependable defensive player for the team. She is currently second on the team with 188 digs and has 16 blocks this season as well.

The focus and discipline that Ellis brings to the volleyball court is something she also uses to her advantage in the classroom. To Ellis, volleyball is more than simply an on-court experience, and she tries to use the lessons she’s learned from the sport in her business major.

“[Volleyball] definitely helps with two main things: time management and stress management,” Ellis said. “Also, on the court we learn how to be a leader and about teamwork…and [that] will help me in my career plans in business.

“[In business] you are always working as part of a team, working toward a bigger picture, and I can make the connection between volleyball and business because there’s time lines, stress and teamwork,” Ellis added.

For a young Vikings team with ten underclassmen on their roster, Ellis’ experience and leadership have been invaluable. The junior has lead by example this season, proving to be an efficient and reliable player at the net. Head coach Michael Seemann acknowledged the importance of Ellis’ emerging consistency.

“Certainly, Megan is a good hitter for us,” Seemann said. “It’s safe to say that she can be solid in the double-digit kills. We always enter each match looking for [big numbers] from her.”

Ellis understands an integral part of leadership is being a good teammate, and one of her main goals this season is to be a stronger passing player. With Ellis’ outside hitter counterpart, sophomore Aubrey Mitchell, emerging as a dangerous attacking player on the other side of the net, good passing between the two should result in a lot of points for the Vikings. So far, Ellis is fourth on the team in assists with 21.

“In practice we’ve been focusing on getting more attempts to [Mitchell],” Seemann said. “She’s had a few break out matches where she’s putting up double digit kills and also excelling in blocking…a couple good matches together would be huge for her.”

“If we can get [Mitchell] to 10, 12 or 14 kills and [Ellis] in the high teens, then I believe we’re putting ourselves in a position to win matches,” Seemann added.

This weekend, the Vikings will need to play with a fast-paced tempo to combat Eastern Washington’s physical offense. The emphasis in practice this week has been blocking and attacking around the net.

“Our net play needs to improve,” Seemann said.

“Eastern is a good blocking team. If we don’t make some better decisions on our swings we may find ourselves in a similar situation to Sac State.”

Getting all the younger players up to speed and on the same page will be a key factor in the ongoing development of the team. Ellis believes that despite the Vikings’ success so far this season, there’s still a lot of room for improvement.

“We are working on creating a new identity.” Ellis said. “We are still in the process of finding our rhythm…We have a lot of potential, but we have yet to capture it.”

Ellis and the rest of the Vikings are set to take on Eastern Washington at 7 p.m. this Saturday at the Stott Center. Be sure to check out PSUVanguard.com for a game recap and for post-match video interviews.