PORTLAND, Ore. – The Vikings put together their most complete match of the year in a dominating three-set sweep of the Montana State Bobcats Thursday night at the Peter W. Stott Center.
 
Portland State (10-5 overall, 2-1 Big Sky Conference) took the match by scores of 25-15, 25-15, and 25-20 behind a season-high .432 hitting percentage. It was the first time Portland State hit over .400 as a team since they hit .542 against Weber State in 2013.
 
As good as the Vikings were offensively, they were just as good defensively. They held Montana State (2-10, 0-3) to just .120 hitting for the match, while tallying 10.0 blocks, their fourth double-digit blocking match of the season.
 
"We played with a lot of confidence tonight," Head Coach Michael Seemann said following the win. "We prepared well and approached each point with equal value, which allowed us to stay steady. It was a good overall effort by everyone."
 
It was all Vikings right from the get go. They jumped out to an early 9-3 lead in the opening frame and never really looked back. The catalyst in the first was sophomore MB Mikaelyn Sych who led the team with four kills and was in on all five (1-4) of the team's blocks in the set.
 
"Mikaelyn is getting more and more confident every day with her swing," Seemann added. "This was the right time for her to get going because we saw some things against Montana State that we wanted to expose. We did a good job of that and it opened up both pins for us."
 
Sych kept things rolling for the Vikings throughout the rest of the opening set, including coming up with the set-winning kill, to give the team a 25-15 win in the first. Sych finished the match with six kills and seven total blocks, both matching her previous career highs.
 
Portland State was a little shaky from the service line in the first set with four errors to go along with a pair of aces. That turned around in the second as they found their stroke and combined for five aces in the second.
                                                          
Sophomore OH Sarah Brennan gave the Vikings an 11-6 lead early in the set on back-to-back aces. She added a third ace in the set to put the Vikings up 21-14. Senior OH Pati Anae got into the service action with an ace to close out the second and send the Vikings to the intermission up two sets to none.
 
Brennan put together one of the most well-rounded performances of her career. She finished with nine kills, while hitting for a high percentage of .467 (9-2-14). She also added her three aces in the third set along with a trio of blocks at the net.
 
Anae again led the team with a match-high 12 kills. She hit for a team individual season high of .524 (12-1-21) on a season-low 21 attacks. She recorded just one attacking error for the match, which came in early in the first set. Anae added a pair service aces, five digs, and a pair of blocks.
 
Anae and Brennan each hit over .500 in the second set as the Vikings combined for a .609 (16-2-23) hitting mark in the frame. It was the first times since 2014 that the Vikings had hit over .600 in a single set.
 
Portland State was hitting .489 for the match through the first two sets before coming a little back to earth in the third. The set stayed a lot closer than the previous two sets as Montana State took its first lead of the match with a service ace to go up 18-17.
 
The teams went back-and forth until the score was tied at 20-20. The Vikings pulled away on three Bobcat attacking errors and a bad set to go up 24-20 before Anae's 12th kill of the matched closed it out for the Vikings.
 
The Vikings have a day off to prepare for the Sacramento State Hornets who come to town Saturday, Oct. 1 for a 7:30 p.m. match. The Hornets are 9-8 overall and a perfect 3-0 in league play after picking up a three-set sweep of Montana Thursday night.
 
NOTES:
• Portland State hit a season-high .432 in the match.
• Portland State reached the 10-win mark for the first time since 2013.
• Pati Anae led the Vikings with 12 kills on a season-low 21 attacks.
• Anae posted a team best hitting percentage of .524 (12-1-21).
• Mikaelyn Sych matched her career high in both kills (6) and blocks (7).