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PORTLAND – Leigh-Ann Haataja's stuff block winner gave Portland State a 15-12 win in the fifth and decisive set over North Dakota as the Vikings took the match 3-2. The win moved PSU into a tie with UND for first place in the Big Sky Conference at 14-3. The block was a fitting end to the match as the Vikings posted 17 total blocks including a season-high seven solo blocks.

"Looking at that team, there's a lot of activity coming out the middle," Head Coach Michael Seemann said following the dramatic win. "Even the blocks that didn't go down as stuff blocks, we had a lot of good touches on. Then we got some good quality swings in transition from those touches. There were a lot of conversion points in there that I'm very proud of."

North Dakota (19-10 overall, 14-3 Big Sky Conference) started the fifth set with the serve but it did not last long as senior setter Garyn Schlatter made a quick dump over the net to give the Vikings back the serve. Kasimira "Kasi" Clark came into the set with three aces and kept up the tough serving pushing the Vikings lead to 4-0.

Portland State (17-10, 14-3) went up 7-4 before North Dakota started its comeback. UND eventually tied the fifth set at 11-11. The teams traded points to 12-12 before senior outside hitter Aubrey Mitchell came up with her 12th kill of the night to put the Vikings up 13-12. An attacking error on UND gave the Vikings match point which Haataja took advantage of coming up with the big winner at the net.

North Dakota took the first set in a back-and forth battle 26-24. Portland State came right back and took the second set 25-22 before cruising to a quick 25-10 win in the third. UND did not go down quietly and took the fourth set by a score of 26-24. PSU then took the fifth and final set 15-12 on the Haataja block.

Haataja had a match-high nine total blocks (2-7) while adding seven kills and five digs. Fellow middle blocker Katie O'Brien came up huge at the net tallying seven blocks including a season-high four solo blocks, one shy of her career high. The Vikings 17 blocks were one short of their season high of 18 which they set against North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND on Oct. 12.

North Dakota entered the match with a league-best .252 hitting percentage but Portland State's stoutness at the net helped hold UND to just .190 hitting for the match. Portland State hit. 225 in the match.

Senior outside hitter Aubrey Mitchell led the Vikings with 13 kills while hitting .346. Jaklyn Wheeler and Kaeli Patton each added 12 kills in the match while O'Brien added eight.

Schlatter once again proved why she is one of the best setters in the nation with 49 assists, seven kills, and seven digs. She also added an ace and three blocks in the match. Schlatter got virtually everyone involved with six attackers recording seven kills or more. Clark posted a match-high 22 digs while Cheyne Corrado posted 13.

North Dakota was all over the court defensively coming up with 81 digs compared to Portland State's 67. The Vikings tallied nine service aces in the match falling one shy of their third straight double-digit ace performance.

The first set was the closest of the match with 13 ties and nine lead changes. Portland State held the largest lead of the set at 12-9 before North Dakota came back to tie it at 13-13. Neither team could pull away before UND finally took the set 26-24.

Neither team hit well in the second set with both recording hitting percentages under .100. The Vikings only tallied nine kills in the set but had six blocks and a pair of aces. They also forced UND into a match-high 10 errors in the set. PSU was up five at 20-15 before UND came back to cut the lead to three. The Vikings extended their lead again to five points at 24-19. North Dakota scored three straight before Patton ended it with a kill giving the Vikings the 25-22 win to even the match at one set apiece.

The Vikings came out of the intermission with a determined look and took the third set easily 25-10. PSU out-hit UND .452-to-.121 in the set as the Vikings tallied 16 kills. Four Vikings had three-or-more kills in the set led by Wheeler's four. The Vikings had only two attacking errors in the set.

The fourth set was more like the first with 12 ties and six lead changes. With the score tied at 18-18 late in the set, UND rattled off three straight to go up 21-18. Patton ended the run with a kill. Down three at 23-20, Corrado came up with a kill before Clark posted back-to-back aces to tie the set at 23-23. After trading points, UND finished out the set 26-24 to force a fifth and decisive set.

The Vikings went up early in the fifth before North Dakota tied it at 11-11. Portland Stat then finished out the set on a 4-1 run to win it 15-12.

The match was eerily similar to the first meeting between the two schools, as that too went to a fifth set with North Dakota coming out with the win. This time Portland State came out on top to even the season series.

The Vikings have one more regular season home match this Saturday against perennial rival Northern Colorado. The match with the Bears is slated for 7 p.m. and will be Senior Day. The Vikings will honor six seniors who will be playing in their final regular season home match.

NOTES: Portland State and North Dakota are now tied for first in the Big Sky Conference with identical 14-3 records … Portland State is now 2-1 in five set matches … Portland State posted 17 blocks, one shy of its season-high … Portland State posted a season-high seven solo blocks … PSU hit .225 while it held UND to a .190 hitting percentage.