PORTLAND – It took four sets but the Vikings took down the Fighting Hawks in a heart-pounding affair Saturday night on the campus of Concordia University.
 
Portland State took the first two sets 25-17 and 25-23 before North Dakota came back and took the third set 25-18. After 10 ties and a trio of lead changes, the Vikings took the fourth set 26-24.
 
PSU had match point at 24-21 in the fourth but three-straight kills from UND's Tamara Merseli tied the frame at 24-24. SO OH Caitlin Bettenay gave the Vikings their fourth match point with her 21st kill of the match before JR MB Katy Wilson blasted her eighth kill to give the Vikings the 26-24 win.
 
The win improved the Vikings to 14-4 overall and 5-1 in Big Sky Conference action. North Dakota fell to 19-4 and 4-2 with the loss.
 
One of the strengths of this Portland State squad all season has been its depth. That was tested against the Fighting Hawks as the Vikings went 12 deep on its roster with each player who came off the bench contributing in a big way. Outside hitters Toni McDougald and Jenna Mullen each came off the bench and tallied five and four kills respectively. The Vikings even went four defensive specialists deep and had SR OH/S Kylie Copple come in and serve UND tough in the second set.  
 
Bettenay posted her second-consecutive 20-kill match, and fourth of the season, with a match-high 21 kills on a career-high 68 swings. Portland State went to Bettenay early and often against North Dakota. She tallied five kills in the first frame, seven in the second, three in the third, and six kills on 21 swings in the fourth set alone. She also came up with a service ace at a critical time midway through the fourth.
 
FR OH Parker Webb had a career night against UND. She posted career-highs in kills with 14, attacks with 38, and digs with six. She also added four blocks and a pair of aces early in the opening frame. It was her fourth double-digit kill match of the year, and second in as many matches.  
 
SR S Erin Clark posted her eight double-double of the season with 51 assists along with a season-high 16 digs in the win. She has really come on during conference play. She leads the Big Sky with 12.35 assists per set during league play and now leads the league with 10.90 assists per set overall on the year. Over the past two matches, she is averaging 12.38 assists and 3.38 digs per set.
 
Another senior coming on strong for the Vikings is DS/L Tasha Bojanic. She was everywhere for the Vikings Saturday night, tallying a season-high 32 digs. She came up big late in the match, tallying 14 digs in the fourth set alone. She leads the league with 6.45 digs per set during conference play and 4.62 digs per set overall.
 
Wilson, along with fellow JR MB Mikaelyn Sych, each added eight kills in the match. Wilson had three blocks, including a solo stuff, while Sych tallied four.
 
Webb stole the show for the Vikings in the early stages of the opening frame. She tallied a pair of kills, two aces, a block, and a trio of digs as the Vikings jumped out to an early 8-3 lead, which forced a UND timeout.
 
A service error out of the timeout ended the Vikings' 6-0 run but the Vikings rattled off three-straight points to take an 11-4 lead. North Dakota took three of the next four points to cut the lead to 12-5 before Portland State went on another 3-0 run to go up 15-7. After trading points to 17-9, UND took its second timeout.
 
The Vikings extended their run to 5-0 behind the tough serving from JR DS Haley Glass to go up 20-9. UND took four of the next five points to make it 21-13 and then went on a late run, but the Vikings took the opening frame 25-17.
 
Tough serving kept the Fighting Hawks off balance to start the second set as the Vikings opened with a quick 7-0 run, which forced an early UND timeout. A kill from the Fighting Hawks ended the Vikings run to open second and started a 5-1 run of their own to make it 8-5.
 
UND pulled within two points at 11-9 but Sych came up with a big kill in the middle to put the Vikings up 12-9 before a UND attacking error made it 13-9. UND pulled within two again at 14-12 before the Vikings rattled off four-straight points to go up 18-12.
 
The Fighting hawks took four of the next five points to pull within three at 19-16 before a service error gave the serve back to the Vikings at 20-14. North Dakota extended their run to 6-1 after three-straight points to make it a one-point set at 20-19.
 
North Dakota tied the set at 21-21, before Mullen came in and blasted a kill right at the back line to give the Vikings lead. Sych and Webb put the Vikings up two at 23-21 before taking the second set 25-23.
 
Building off their momentum towards the end of the second set, the Fighting Hawks took a 7-3 lead to open the third. UND went up 9-5 before a kill from Clark and a solo block from Mullen made it 9-7. North Dakota took six of the next eight points to go up 15-9, which forced the Vikings' first timeout of the set.
 
North Dakota went up 18-13 before three-straight kills by the Vikings, including back-to-back kills from Mullen, one blast and one tip, pulled the Vikings within two at 18-16, which forced North Dakota to call its first timeout of the frame.
 
Three-straight by the Fighting Hawks out of the timeout made it 21-16 and it was the Vikings' turn to call the timeout. Out of the timeout, UND extended its run to 7-2 to take the third set 25-18.
 
The intensity ratcheted up to start the fourth set with neither team taking more than a one-point lead until the Vikings took a two-point lead at 7-5. The teams traded points before an attacking error by UND gave PSU a 10-7 lead.
 
North Dakota rattled off four-straight points to go up 11-10 before a service error made it 11-11. After trading points to 12-12, Bettenay gave the Vikings the lead with her first ace of the day. After a long rally, a solo block from McDougald put the Vikings up two at 14-12.
 
A back row kill from Bettenay, her 18th of the match, put the Vikings up 16-13, which forced the Fighting Hawks to call their first timeout of the set. UND pulled within two at 17-15, and Portland State called its first timeout.
 
Another kill from Bettenay made it 18-15. Three-straight by the Fighting Hawks tied the set at 18-18 before Bettenay's 20th kill and a block from Sych and Webb put the Vikings up 20-18.
 
After UND's final timeout of the fourth, the Vikings gave back a point with a service error. The Vikings got it right back with a UND attacking error before a kill from Wilson after a long rally, followed by a kill from Webb made it 23-19.
 
North Dakota once again pulled within two at 23-21, which forced Portland State to call its final timeout of the frame. A kill from Webb off the block gave the Vikings match point at 24-21.
 
The Fighting Hawks kept fighting and staved off three match points to tie it at 24-24. A kill from Bettenay followed by Wilson's eight kill of the match gave the Vikings the 26-24 win in the fourth to take the match 3-1.
 
North Dakota had three players with double-digit kills led by Jordan Vail's team-high 14. The Fighting Hawks hit .192 over the course of the match, while Portland State hit .211.
 
The Vikings close out the first half of Big Sky action next week as they conclude their season-high five-match home stand. They host Northern Arizona on Thursday, Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. PT before hosting Southern Utah on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m.
 
NOTES:

• SO OH Caitlin Bettenay recorded her 15th double-digit kill match with 21 on a career-high 68 attacks.
• SR DS/L Tasha Bojanic recorded a season-high 32 digs for her third career 30-dig match.
• SR S Erin Clark recorded her team-best eighth double-double with 51 assists and a season-high 16 digs.
• FR OH Parker Webb posted career highs in kills (14), attacks (38) and digs (6).
• Portland State is 14-4 for the second time during its NCAA Division I Era (1996-2017).