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PORTLAND – Senior Kaeli Patton had a match-high 16 kills as the Vikings secured a sport in the Big Sky Volleyball Tournament with a straight sets win over the Southern Utah Thunderbirds Thursday night at the Peter W. Stott Center. Portland State took the match by scores of 25-19, 25-15, and 25-16.

This year marks the 12th consecutive appearance by the Vikings in the tournament, which is a good thing because PSU will host this year's tournament Nov. 29-30 at the Stott Center. The Vikings clinched a berth by virtue of being 6.5 matches ahead of the seventh place team with five matches to play. Six teams make it into the tournament with North Dakota being the other team to secure a spot.

Patton led the Vikings with 16 kills while hitting .520 (16-3-25) for the match, which was just shy of her career mark. Portland State (15-10 overall, 12-3 Big Sky Conference) hit .347 as a team while Southern Utah (3-23, 2-13) hit just .151.

"We stayed very patient offensively," Head Coach Michael Seemann said following the match. "We figured out how to get out of rallies and score points. Garyn did a good job of figuring out the puzzle of how to score. She kept feeding Kaeli who is hitting with a lot of confidence right now."

Garyn Schlatter posted 39 assists in the match which has been something she has been doing since she first stepped foot on the court. Thursday's match was the 118th consecutive match that Schlatter has played for Portland State, more than any other Vikings since PSU moved to Division I in 1996. She has played in 438 of a possible 439 sets, also a PSU Division I record.

Patton was the only player in double-figure kills for the Vikings but Jaklyn Wheeler and Leigh-Ann Haataja each added eight kills. Aubrey Mitchell added seven.

Portland State built up an early lead in the first set before Southern Utah tied it at 9-9 and briefly held the lead. The Vikings came right back and went on a 12-2 run to go up 20-12. The Thunderbirds closed the gap late but the Vikings took the set 25-19.

The second set stayed close through the first part as well as the score was tied at 10-10. The teams traded points before the Vikings built up a six-point lead at 20-14. PSU then closed out the set on a 5-1 run backed by a pair of Haataja service aces.

Portland State had 10 service aces in the match compared to Southern Utah's four. It was the sixth time this season that the Vikings have posted double-figure aces in a match.

Patton and Haataja each had four kills in the third and final set as the Vikings won it 25-16 to take the match in straight sets. Schlatter tallied 13 assists in the set as the Vikings hit .314 as a team.

Portland State will square off with Northern Arizona Saturday night at the Peter W. Stott Center. It is slated for a 7 p.m. start. The Vikings are a match up on the Lumberjacks who defeated Eastern Washington in straight sets Thursday night.

NOTES: Senior setter Garyn Schlatter played in her 118th-career match Thursday night which makes her PSU's leader in career matches played during its Division I era (1996-present) … Portland State is now a perfect 10-0 at home during conference play … PSU remained perfect (15-0) when outhitting its opponent.