CHENEY, Wash. – The Vikings opened the second half of Big Sky Conference action with a straight set win over the Eastern Washington Eagles Thursday night at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.
 
After a slow start, the Vikings came from behind to take the opening frame 25-22. They found their rhythm and took the second set 25-14 before closing out the sweep with another 25-14 win in the third. It was the 10th straight-set victory for the Vikings as they improved their record to 16-5 overall and 7-2 in conference play.
 
SO OH Toni McDougald came up big for the Vikings off the bench with a match-high 11 kills. She hit .360, while picking up five digs. It was her eighth double-digit kill match of the year, fifth since the beginning of conference play, and third straight. She is averaging 2.93 kills per set with a .330 hitting mark in league play.
 
SO OH Caitlin Bettenay and JR MB Katy Wilson each tallied eight kills in the match, while FR OH Parker Webb and JR MB Mikaelyn Sych each added seven. Wilson hit .462 in the match with a pair of solo blocks.
 
SR S Erin Clark recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 34 assists and 10 digs, while SR L Tasha Bojanic added a match-high 12 digs.
 
Portland State trailed early in the opening frame before coming back and tying the set at 10-10 on a bad set by Eastern Washington. The score stayed within a couple of points before the Vikings rattled off four-straight to take a 22-19 lead. The Vikings and Eagles traded points through the rest of the frame before the Vikings took it 24-22 on a kill from Sych.
 
The second set stayed close through the early stages but the Vikings took control with a 7-2 run to go up 17-10. After an EWU Kill, PSU extended its lead to 22-12 with a 5-1 run. Sych once again closed out the set, this time with a solo block, which gave the Vikings the 25-14 win to put them up 2-0 in the match.
 
Eastern Washington took an early 3-1 lead in the third set before Portland State went on a 6-1 run to go up 7-4. The Eagles took three of the next four points before the Vikings went on an 8-0 run behind the tough serving from Clark, which included one of the team's three service aces.
 
EWU took three-straight points before the Vikings, once again, went on a run, this time 6-1, to go up 22-11. They took the third, 25-14, to close out the sweep.
 
Portland State hit .317 for the match, while holding Eastern Washington to an .087 hitting mark. The Vikings sided out 76-percent of the time against the Eagles, including going 13-for-14 in the second set.
 
Megan LaFond led Eastern Washington with eight kills in the match as Portland State held its opponent without a double-digit kill attacker for the second-straight match.
 
Portland State heads to Moscow, Idaho for Saturday's match against the Idaho Vandals in a matchup of 7-2 Big Sky Conference teams. Idaho fell at home to Sacramento State Thursday night.