Archie’s wry hook

As junior middle blocker Erica Jepsen slammed the ball down for the deciding point in Portland State’s four-set victory Saturday, the Stott Center erupted into pandemonium.

The scene was eerily similar to the one that occurred slightly over a year earlier, when the Vikings beat Sacramento State in an important four-set match.

Players’ emotions spilled out on the court, some in joyous celebration, while others unsuccessfully held back tears. Head coach Michael Seemann turned to embrace his staff in a moment that he had likely played over in his head hundreds of times.

That victory last season gave the Vikings the regular season conference championship and earned Portland State the right to host the 2008 tournament.

Seemann and his staff-associate head coach Jeff Mozzochi and assistant Katie Opheikens–deserve credit for helping the young Vikings team finally find their groove and assembling a game plan to defeat a powerful and talented Eastern Washington team in the Big Sky Championship.

Too often in sports coaches get too much heat when the team is unsuccessful and get too much recognition when the team performs well.

But in this case, any credit Seemann and his staff receive is definitely warranted.

After experiencing a new level of success last season, the Vikings entered 2008 with some lofty expectations. Some of those were self-imposed, like the team’s outspoken goal to make it to the NCAA Tournament, and some came from outside sources, as Seemann’s squad was picked nearly unanimously to win the Big Sky.

But the squad uncharacteristically struggled, losing three consecutive games mid-season, and dropped their first Big Sky home match in three seasons.

In two losses at the end of the season the squad looked confused, flustered and, worst of all, poorly coached and unprepared.

Fans wondered how a team with superior talent could appear so discombobulated.

But somehow Seemann and his staff, and Eastern Washington can attest to this better than I, got the Vikings ready to play in the Big Sky Championships.

And while it was junior Nique Fradella, sophomore Christy Hamilton and freshman Tracy Vargas who were awarded for their outstanding performances, the most deserving team member might have been the young coach who seemed to make all the right moves during the game and must have said all the right things before it.

Coaches like Seemann are rarities in college athletics, especially at Portland State.

Over the past few years the South Park Blocks have become just another stepping stone for coaches on their way to more attractive positions.

Last year alone athletic director Torre Chisholm replaced head coaches in softball, golf, soccer and tennis as coaches departed Portland State for greener pastures.

Unfortunately, with the success of the team over the two seasons that Seemann has guided the Vikings comes the possibility that the head coach will get offers to take his .714 winning percentage elsewhere.Winning is not the only characteristic that Seemann possesses that may attract offers from a school with perhaps more money, better attendance or a bigger gym.

If this weekend’s performance is any indication, the man who has won at every level he has coached at is a master motivator.

Saturday night’s contest pitted two evenly matched teams, but Eastern Washington carried all the momentum. They had defeated the Vikings twice already this season and had taken six of the seven sets.

More importantly, or perhaps more momentum building, was the fact that Eastern Washington ended the Vikings’ seasons at the Big Sky Championships from 2004-06.

But Saturday night it was Eastern Washington who looked tense and unsteady.

Eagles head coach Miles Kydd tried fruitlessly to inspire his team from the sideline, calling timeouts, changing his rotation and even pulling Big Sky Player of the Year Hayley Hills for a short time.

On the other sideline, Seemann looked loose and confident in his team’s abilities.

When the match was over and he was finally able to relax, he turned to Mozzochi–a man who also deserves much of the credit for rebuilding a program that was among the nation’s worst not that long ago.

From 1998 to 2001, the Vikings only won three conference games. They lost 59. During the year 2000, they did not win a game all season.

All of that was forgotten on Saturday, and Vikings fans can only hope that Portland State can keep Michael Seemann around long enough for the smell to linger.