Sibling rivalry takes center stage

The Portland State women’s volleyball team take their three-match winning streak back home to the Stott Center this weekend. The team squares up on Friday against the Montana State Bobcats for the annual “Dig Pink Night” night—in support of breast cancer awareness. The match will pit sophomore setter Garyn Schlatter against her younger sister, freshman Kasey Schlatter. Then Saturday evening the Vikings (11-11 overall, 7-3 conference) take on the Montana Lady Griz.

Garyn and outside hitter and defensive specialist Kasey faced off earlier this season at Kasey’s home gym. However, this time around the match will have amplified meaning being played in Oregon, as both sisters are from Canby.

“For [Kasey] it will be fun to be back at home,” Garyn said, “I think it’s really fun playing against her. The way we mentally play is so similar it makes it a really fun match, and we make each other play better too.”

Portland State comes into the match from a pair of wins on the road against the Weber State Wildcats and the Idaho State Bengals. Garyn put up one of her best performances against the Bengals, as she nearly posted a triple-double with 46 assists, 13 digs and nine kills.

“She’s done a great job of reading the offense,” head coach Michael Seemann said. “She almost had a triple-double which is unheard of. I think if we continue to improve her ability to attack the ball more as a hitter mentality while continuing to lead us as setter and get high numbers of assists, that would be ideal.”

Alongside Garyn, the Viks bring in three key outside hitters to the court—junior Megan Ellis, sophomore Aubrey Mitchell and freshman Tineke Bierma. The three players all finished with career high performances this past weekend.

“[We need to] continue to improve ourselves on defense though,” Seemann said. “I think that’s going to be the key as it comes to end of the year. What teams are defending is going to decide who plays in the tournament.”

“I want us to be as consistent as we can and playing every point like it’s the last. They’re both great teams and they’re going to be great matches, so we need to stay focused,” added Garyn.

While the Vikings come into the weekend off a pair of road wins, Montana State enters in the opposite position—a pair of losses at home. The Bobcats have struggled this season to find a solid game plan. They currently sit 3-18 overall and 2-12 in conference. Their sole pair of Big Sky wins came earlier in the season on the road against Idaho State and Weber State.

The team’s losses last weekend came in two four set battles against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks and the Northern Colorado Bears. The ’Cats were led offensively by senior middle blocker Chelsea Oemcke. Oemck pulled down 28 kills over the weekend. On the defensive end, it was Kasey, sophomore libero Nicole Baker and senior outside hitter Rachelle Allen. The three players had the highest numbers of Bobcat digs in both matches.

Friday’s match also marks the Viking’s annual “Dig Pink Night” match, and fans that wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness will receive $2 off their ticket price. Proceeds from the match will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

After the sisters face off on Friday, the Vikings host the Montana Lady Griz on Saturday. The Griz are currently one spot above the Bobcats and in a tie with Idaho State for fifth place. They hold an 8-10 overall record and are an even 5-5 in conference.

Montana comes in with a three-match winning streak, however they will play Eastern Washington Friday night prior to traveling to Portland State. Their most recent win was a five set victory against Northern Colorado—a win that knocked the Bears out of the coveted first place ranking.

The Lady Griz are a team that came into the conference play cold, finishing 0-4 in their opening matches. Since then, they have pushed back to .500 with their signature fast paced offense, but against the Bears, Montana brought a new dynamic to the floor: a solid blocking force. The Lady Griz have been outblocked in their past three losses, but against Northern Colorado they registered 14 blocks to the Bears’ six.

The two offensive threats for Montana are sophomore outside hitter Kayla Reno, who leads the team in total kills with 207, and freshman outside hitter Kelsey Schile. Schile pulled her career high 21 kills versus the Bears. She is first in assists for the Griz’ outside hitters with 179.

The last time the Vikings faced the Montana schools this season, Portland State swept the weekend with two five set matches. Garyn put up 50 assists against Montana State and then had a season-high 53 against Montana.

With the Big Sky tournament just six matches away, the teams are jockeying to get to the necessary top four positions. This young Vikings team had their share of growing pains throughout this season, especially early on, but now Portland State has their focus set on another Big Sky Championship.

This weekend’s matches are both slated to begin at 7 p.m. at the Stott Center.