The 1984 and 1985 teams won back-to-back national championships after losing to Cal State Northridge in 1983.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Two Portland State University volleyball teams will be inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in late October. The 1984 and 1985 women’s volleyball team had two dominant years, winning two Division II championships.
Jeff Mozoki was brought on as head coach in 1984, with his wife Marty serving as associate head coach. They inherited a talented roster that returned many players from the team that lost in the 1983 National Championship Game.
“I think we knew probably within two weeks of the preseason that we could do pretty well,” Jeff Mozzocchi said.
The Mozzozzi said the team is focused and determined to avenge the title they lost last season. The Vikings advanced through that tournament in 1984 and would face Cal State Northridge in the Division II championship game at Portland State University.
“Everybody’s heart is racing and they’re like, ‘Okay, this is it, this is it.’ But once they started playing, we played and did what we had to do and wanted to do it. We did that and that was it,” explained Marty Mozzozzi.
PSU would end up defeating Northridge in straight sets to take the title.
When the calendar flipped to 1985, the team’s goal was to repeat.
“We had some really good veterans, we had three returning All-Americans, but we also had some rookies and freshmen,” Jeff Mozochi said.
Bringing upperclassmen and underclassmen together as a team was easier said than done.
“I think it was frustrating for the seniors at times, trying to integrate strong seniors, strong leadership and goofy freshmen,” Marty Mozzoch added.
Despite some growing pains, the 1985 team found its footing and advanced toward a championship game against Cal State Northridge. The Vikings would get another win in front of PSU’s home crowd. Over the past two seasons, the team has a combined record of 69 wins and 9 losses.
The Mozzozzi call being inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame “a tremendous honor.”
“This reflects a group of women who put in a lot of effort to achieve the goals they set for themselves and were able to accomplish it,” Jeff Mozoki explained.
The Hall of Fame induction will be held on October 29th at the Patricia Riser Center for the Arts. The show will be hosted by KGW’s Orlando Sanchez and former ESPN anchor Neil Everett.
