SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Vikings battled from the very first point of the match, defeating the CSUN Matadors, 3-1, to open the 2017 season Friday night at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego, Calif.
 
After rolling to a 25-18 win in the opening frame, the resilient Portland State (1-0 overall) squad staved off four set points before winning 27-25 on back-to-back stuffs at the net by juniors Mikaelyn Sych and Sarah Brennan. After CSUN (0-1) took the third set 25-23, the Vikings took the match with a back-and-forth, 25-22, win in the fourth.
 
The Vikings spread the ball round well offensively but it was their play at the net that turned their season opener into a block party. Portland State tallied 14.0 blocks, its most in a single match since tallying 16.0 in 2014.
 
Sych, a junior from Airdrie, Alberta, Canada, led the Vikings at the net with a career-high 12 blocks, the most by a Viking since Katie O'Brien's 10 blocks in 2014. Brennan matched her career high with seven blocks at the net.
 
Offensively, junior Jenna Mullen led the Vikings with her second career double-double. She tallied a team-high 13 kills, while adding 11 digs and a career-high five blocks. Sophomore Caitlin Bettenay just missed a double-double of her own with 12 kills and nine digs. She added a service ace and a block.
 
Senior libero Tasha Bojanic anchored the back line for the Vikings with 18 digs, three assists, and a team-high three service aces. Senior setter Erin Clark tallied 25 assists, seven digs, and two aces of her own.
 
Tough serving has always been a focal point for 11th-year Head Coach Michael Seemann and the Vikings and it manifested itself again Friday. PSU tallied seven service aces over the four sets.  


Freshman outside hitter Parker Webb had a nice debut with four kills on six swings with no errors. She added a dig and two assists.
 
Down 6-5 in the opening stages of the first set, the Vikings rattled off four-straight points to take a 9-6 lead. The Vikings only extended their advantage from there. Mullen tallied back-to-back kills to put the Vikings up 16-10.
 
After trading points to 21-16, PSU scored three-straight, capped by a block from Brennan and Sych, the first of the match for Portland State, to go up 24-16. Two points later, Bettenay gave the Vikings the 25-18 win in the first set with her fourth kill of the frame.
 
Mullen and Bettenay both led the Vikings with four kills after the first. The Vikings hit .407 in the first, tallying 13 kills and just two errors on 27 swings.
 
The Vikings offense cooled off in the second frame but the defense picked up the slack. The Vikings trailed 16-11 midway through the second set before going on a four-point run to pull within one at 16-15. CSUN went on a run of its own to take a 19-15 lead.
 
Portland State battled back to once again pull within one again a 21-20. The Matadors made it set point at 24-21 but the Vikings batted back to tie the set at 24-24 after some tough serving from Clark. A kill by CSUN gave it another set point.
 
Brennan and Sych combined for back-to-back blocks of CSUN's Morgan Salone to give the Vikings the 27-25 win in the second and go up 2-0 in the match. After tallying just one block in the opening frame, the Vikings tallied four blocks in the second.
 
Portland State ran out to a quick 4-0 lead to open the third set. After trading points to make it a 5-3 advantage, the Vikings went on a 5-0 run to go up 10-3. CSUN countered with a 10-3 run to tie the third set at 13-13, which forced a Portland State timeout.
 
Both teams came out of the timeout with service errors as the score moved to 14-14. Bettenay gave the Vikings the lead once again with a cross-court kill, her seventh of the match. Brennan and Sych combined for another block before Mullen and Sych came up with a block on the other side of the net to make it 17-14.
 
Three-straight points by the Matadors once again tied the third set at 17-17. CSUN took a 20-18 lead before a kill and a solo block, both from junior Katy Wilson, tied the set at 20-20.
 
The Matadors took five of the final eight points to push the match to a fourth set.
 
The fourth set was the closest of the match with 12 ties and four lead changes. After the Vikings went up 5-1, the Matadors came back to tie it at 7-7. Neither team would lead by more than a single point until the Vikings took a 20-18 lead late in the frame.
 
The teams traded points to 22-19, which forced a CSUN timeout. Bojanic came out of the timeout with a service ace to make it 23-19. The Matadors made it a one-point match at 23-22 before a kill from Bettanay and another from Mullen gave the Vikings the 25-22 win in the set and the 3-1 victory.
 
Portland State will have a quick turnaround with a doubleheader slated for Saturday. The Vikings start the day against host San Diego State at 11:30 a.m. PT before concluding the Aztec Invitational against Eastern Kentucky at 5 p.m.
 
NOTES:
• Mikaelyn Sych tallied a career-high 12 blocks, the most by a Viking since Katie O'Brien posted 10 in 2014.
• Portland State's 14.0 blocks were the most since tallying 16.0 against Idaho in 2014.
• Jenna Mullen posted her first double-double of the year (13 kills, 11 digs)
• Freshmen Parker Webb and Maddy Reeb made their Portland State debuts.