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VANCOUVER, Wash. — The Portland State women's tennis team passed a team-wide gut check Sunday, as the Vikings won four singles matches that went past two sets en route to a 7-0 sweep of Idaho State at Club Green Meadows.
 
The sweep marks just the second time the Vikings (5-6, 4-3 Big Sky) have ever taken every match of a dual from a Big Sky opponent, both of which have come this season as the Vikings also swept Southern Utah 7-0 on Feb. 6.
 
The Viking's two sweeps could not have been any more different, however, as Idaho State (3-7, 1-2 Big Sky) gave the Vikings everything they had Sunday, taking them to three sets at lines 1-3 in singles, and a match tiebreaker at line six. The Bengals came back from a set down to force a third set at lines one and two, and won the first set at line three to give them a chance at stealing the dual after the Vikings won the doubles point.
 
Portland State came through in all of the close matches, however, handing them their third straight win.
 
"It was really tough today. A lot of credit to Idaho State because they just kept coming back with one push after another push, trying to force the matches," PSU head coach Jay Sterling said. "We really did a good job of staying mentally tough and just believing in ourselves, and letting the lost points go. That's what really helped us today. We didn't hold on to much for very long, and when we did, that's when we struggled.
 
"These girls, they don't play for themselves, they play for the team. And that's a cultural thing. It's taken a long time to build that, and to teach that, but that's what our program's about."
 
The Vikings got off to a good start with another doubles sweep Sunday, the sixth time in the past eight matches the Vikings have won every doubles match in a dual. Redshirt senior Dané Vorster and freshman Taylor Rees got it started with a 6-1 win over Idaho State's Svenja Tegtmeier and Kasey Bacon at line two, while junior Sabina-Elena Preda and redshirt junior Kelsey Frey clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 win over Laura Theus and Taylor Cole at line three.
 
Vorster's win with Rees gave the senior her 15th career Big Sky doubles win, tying the school record her former doubles partner Megan Govi set from 2012-15.
 
The Viking kept it going at the start of singles, too, winning the first sets in four of the first five matches.
 
Things got interesting after that, however, as the Bengals started to make their comeback.
 
Vorster and sophomore Siena Peri suddenly found themselves in battles in the second set of their matches at lines one and two, after each had won the first sets. Junior Tracy Dong, meanwhile, had lost the first set at line three, while Preda trailed in the second set at line four.
 
Frey gave the Vikings some momentum back their way at line five, as she wrapped up a 6-4, 6-4 win over Theus to put the Vikings up 2-0 in the dual. Frey broke Theus in the final game of each set, giving the redshirt junior her third straight win, all of which have come in straight sets.
 
Preda also came up big late in both of her sets against Nonie Alexandersen at line four. Alexandersen was serving for the first set at 5-4 when Preda broke her to start a run of three straight games for Preda that gave her the first set, 7-5.
 
Alexandersen found herself in the exact same position in the second set, serving for the set at 5-4 up, when Preda broke her again. Alexandersen recovered to send the second set to a tiebreaker this time around, but Preda pulled out the tiebreaker, 7-4, to wrap up a 7-5, 7-6 (4) win.
 
Preda's win put the Vikings up 3-0, but they weren't out of the woods yet, as Idaho State had battled back to win the second sets at lines one and two by then, and had won the first set at line six.
 
The Vikings were in their worst spot at line three, where the Bengals' Wiebke Boeckmann was serving for the match at 5-2 and a set up on Dong. Dong had lost the first set to Boeckmann, 7-5, and gave up two early breaks to Boeckmann in the second set. Dong held off Boeckmann with a break at 5-2, however, and then broke again with Boeckmann serving for the match another time at 5-4. Dong had Boeckmann rattled by that point, and broke Boeckmann a third time before serving out the second set, 7-5.
 
"I was just thinking about how much I really didn't want to lose that match because I've been working too hard to throw away a match like that," Dong said about coming back from the 5-2 deficit after the match. "I was just really frustrated because I wasn't used to how she was playing. She was slicing and coming in, and so I just channeled that frustration into motivation to win, and focused on having a positive attitude."
 
Dong extended her run from the end of the second set into the third to take a 4-1 lead over Boeckmann, but then had to overcome Boeckmann's own run late in the third. Boeckmann won four straight games after taking a medical timeout at 4-1, giving her another chance to serve out the match at 5-4 up. Just like in the second set, however, Dong broke Boeckmann with Boeckmann serving at 5-4 up, and then broke Boeckmann again after a hold to close out a back-and-forth 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 win.
 
"It was a really mentally tough match. When she was up 5-4, I just took it one point at a time. I didn't have doubt that I could do it. I just had confidence all around and truly believed that I could pull it out and win," Dong said.
 
Peri had comeback after dropping the second set of her match by that point to clinch the dual for the Vikings with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 win over Tegtmeier at line two.
 
Vorster, meanwhile, had to shake off her own mistakes in the third set at line one, as she was twice broken while serving for the match against Bacon. Vorster came through in the end, however, as she won a third-set tiebreaker over Bacon, 7-4, that gave her a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4) win.
 
"I hope this win is a change in my season," Vorster said about her win afterwards. "Just to be able to close out some of the opportunities I've had in the past few matches. Hopefully here on forward I'll find more of my game and take some confidence from this win."
 
Vorster's win snapped a four-match losing streak for the senior in Big Sky matches, and improved the senior to 3-0 in three-set matches during the dual season.
 
Rees, finally, put the bow on the Vikings' sweep, as she won her match over Cole at line six in a match tiebreaker. Cole had beaten Rees 6-2 in the first set, but Rees came back with a dominant second set that she won 6-0. Rees then got out in front during the match tiebreaker, and pulled it out 10-7 for a 2-6, 6-0, 1-0 (10-7) win. The win gives Rees her third straight win in singles overall, as well as he fourth straight win at line six.
 
The Vikings will now look to keep the momentum going next weekend, as they close out their home schedule with a match against Weber State next Saturday at 12 p.m. at Club Green Meadows.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improve to 7-8 all-time against Idaho State after Sunday's win…The Vikings have now won four straight against the Bengals.
 
Portland State 7, Idaho State 0
Mar 06, 2016 at Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows) 

Singles competition

1. VORSTER, Dane (PSU) def. BACON, Kasey (ISU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)

2. PERI, Siena (PSU) def. TEGTMEIER, Svenja (ISU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2

3. DONG, Tracy (PSU) def. BOECKMANN, Wiebke (ISU) 5-7, 7-5, 7-5

4. PREDA, Sabina-Elena (PSU) def. Nonie Alexandersen (ISU) 7-5, 7-6 (7-4)

5. FREY, Kelsey (PSU) def. THEUS, Laura (ISU) 6-4, 6-4

6. REES, Taylor (PSU) def. COLE, Taylor (ISU) 2-6, 6-0, 1-0 (10-7)

Doubles competition

1. PERI, Siena/DONG, Tracy (PSU) vs. Nonie Alexandersen/BOECKMANN, Wiebke (ISU) unfinished

2. VORSTER, Dane/REES, Taylor (PSU) def. TEGTMEIER, Svenja/BACON, Kasey (ISU) 6-1

3. PREDA, Sabina-Elena/FREY, Kelsey (PSU) def. THEUS, Laura/COLE, Taylor (ISU) 6-3

Match Notes

Idaho State 3-7, 1-2 BSC

Portland State 5-6, 4-3 BSC

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,4,2,3,1,6)