STAYING CLOSE TO HOME: The Seattle University volleyball team will be engaging in the least amount of travel since the first week of the season. A quick trip south to face the Portland Pilots on Wednesday is followed by a home match against Canadian school Trinity Western on Thursday and a weekend of practice before the next set of contests.
SCOUTING PORTLAND: The Pilots come into Wednesday's match with a 3-11 overall record, snapping a seven-match losing streak with a sweep of Fresno State before losing to Cal State Northridge. Portland has lost to four teams that were ranked in the top 25 at the time of the match: Oregon, Kansas State, Kentucky, and USC. Jessica Clemens leads the team with 139 kills and eight service aces, plus she has collected 134 digs. Maria Clemens has contributed 111 kills, 72 digs, and 23 total blocks. The setting duties have been split between Kaylyn Jones (245 assists) and Madison Smith (182 assists). Marissa Plummer also has eight service aces along with a team-high 40 total blocks.
SCOUTING TRINITY WESTERN: The Spartans will start their season by facing Portland State the night before heading north to take on the Redhawks. In Canada, the volleyball season extends from November through the conference playoffs in mid-February and the national tournament in early March. Trinity Western is located in Langley, B.C., and is a member of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS - equivalent to NCAA) and the CanadaWest Conference. The Spartans finished 24-9 last season. Kim Klassen returns after leading the team with 226 kills last season. Lauren O'Reilly split the setting duties last season, finishing with 406 assists. Andrea Ball, the team leader in digs with 336, is also back this season. The Spartans do lose Dayna Jansen Van Doorn, who had 222 kills, a .397 hitting percentage, and 136 total blocks last year.