PORTLAND – Portland State jumped two spots in the Big Sky Conference overall standings following their four-set win over the Idaho Vandals Saturday night at the Peter W. Stott Center. The Vikings took the match by scores of 25-13, 25-18, 18-25, and 25-20.
 
Portland State (13-9 overall, 5-5 Big Sky) entered the night fifth in the Big Sky South and eighth in the Big Sky overall but thanks to their win over Idaho and Weber State's loss to North Dakota, the Vikings are now sixth overall in the league with a 5-5 record.
 
The Vikings are two matches behind Northern Colorado, Sacramento State, and Idaho State who are all 7-3. Idaho (7-15, 2-8) is now two matches out of the eighth and final Big Sky Tournament spot at 2-8 in league play.
 
Portland State took control early in the match with wins in the first two frames. Idaho bounced back for a win in the third but the Vikings' defense picked it up in the fourth set with 20 digs and five blocks, while holding the Vandals to a .080 (14-10-50) hitting mark in the fourth.
 
The Vikings got contributions from all over the court, which was very evident in the opening set. All six starters recorded multiple kills in the frame led by freshman OH Caitlin Bettenay's four kills. Bettenay is on a roll over the last two weeks, recording double-doubles in each of her last four matches. She posted 10 kills and 12 digs in the match despite missing some time in the middle of the match after hitting the floor hard going after a ball.
 
In all, four Vikings recorded double-figure kills, led by senior OH Pati Anae's team-high 14. Anae not only led the team in kills but tallied a season-high 20 digs to lead all players. Her 14 kills and 20 digs combined for her team-best 11th double-double of the season. She also added an ace and a pair of solo blocks in the match. Anae's 16th dig of the match, which came in the fourth set, was the 500th of her Portland State career.
 
Junior Kylie Copple had a huge night offensively for the Vikings. The setter turned outside hitter, recorded a career-high 13 kills while hitting a career-high .462 (13-1-26). She also added eight digs, a pair of blocks, and an ace in the match.
 
Sophomore MB Katy Wilson added 10 kills in the match for her eighth double-digit kill performance of the season. She hit .348 (10-2-23) with a pair of blocks.
 
Anae was not the only Viking to surpass a career milestone against the Vandals. Junior S Erin Clark tallied 47 assists in the match to surpass 1,900 for her career. She is now 10th all-time at Portland State with 1,918 career assists. Clark also just missed another double-double with nine digs against the Vandals.
 
Junior L Tash Bojanic and sophomore DS Hadley Heck each added 14 and 11 digs respectively to give the Vikings four players with double-digit digs for the second-straight match.
 
Portland State got out to a quick start in opening frame with a 10-5 lead. The Vikings extended their lead to 15-8 after a solo block at the net by sophomore MB Mikaelyn Sych, which forced Idaho to take its second timeout. The Vikings ran away with it in the second half of the first set, winning 25-13.
 
Bettenay led the Vikings with four kills on nine swings. She also led the team with seven digs. The Vikings' outside hitter combo of Bettenay and Anae tallied 13 of the team's 23 digs in the set.
 
Portland State had a slow start to the second as Idaho was able to take a 9-6 lead early in the set. Down 10-6, the Vikings went on a 5-0 run to take an 11-10 lead after a kill from Sych. After trading points, Portland State went on another run to go up 16-12, which forced an Idaho timeout. The Vikings extended their run to 8-0 to take a commanding 20-12 lead.
 
Idaho came back to pull within four at 21-17 but three-straight points by Portland State gave the Vikings set point at 24-17. Idaho fought off one set point before Bettenay ended it with her sixth kill to give the Vikings the 25-18 win.
 
Portland State came out of the intermission cold and fell behind 8-2. The Vikings quickly found their rhythm with five-straight points, which included an ace from Copple and three-straight kills from Wilson, to cut the lead to 8-7.
 
The Vandals countered with four of the next five points to make it 12-8. Idaho extended its lead to 20-13 before the Vikings were able to cut it to 21-18. That would be as close as the Vikings would get in the set as the Vandals took the third set 25-18.
 
Idaho road its momentum into the fourth set and took a 10-5 lead early in the set. The Vandals extended their lead to 13-6, which forced the Vikings to take their first timeout of the set. After a pair of Portland State kills to make it 13-8, Idaho called its first timeout of the set.
 
A kill by anae, a block from Wilson and Copple, and an Idaho attacking error made the score 13-11. Portland State cut the lead to 16-15 on Bettenay's eight kill of the match, which forced Idaho to take a timeout. Portland State tied the set at 16-16 before the teams traded points to 17-17.
 
The Vikings took three of the next four points to go up 20-18. The teams traded points to 22-20 before three-straight points, capped by an Anae kill, gave the Vikings the 25-20 win in the fourth to take the match 3-1.
 
Copple tallied seven of her 13 kills in the fourth on 11 swings, with no errors. The Vikings came up big at the net with six players combining for five total blocks in the set.
 
The Vikings will be back home next week for a pair of Big Sky South matches. Portland State opens the week on Thursday, Oct. 27 against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds at 7 p.m.
 
 NOTES:
• Pati Anae recorded her 11th double-double of the year with 14 kills and 20 digs.
• Anae recorded her 500th career dig with a season-high 20 digs in the match.
• Erin Clark 47 assists in the match to surpass the 1,900 assists mark for her career.
• Caitlin Bettenay recorded her fourth-straight double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs.
• Portland State had four players with double-figure digs for the second straight match.
• Portland State had four players with double-figure kills in the match.