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CHENEY, Wash. — The universe couldn't pay off the whole karmic debt owed the Portland State volleyball team in one night, but it took a significant chunk out of the deficit Thursday, as the Vikings came back from two sets to one down to beat the Eagles, 3-2 (20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-14, 15-11), on Reese Court.
 
The Vikings (2-15, 1-4 Big Sky) hadn't come back from a 2-1 deficit to win a match since Oct. 20, 2016, when they came back to beat Eastern Washington, 3-2, at home. The comeback win also snapped the Vikings' 15-match losing streak, which dated back to the opening weekend of the regular season.
 
The Vikings showed a number of improvements against the Eagles (8-9, 0-5 Big Sky) that led to them snapping the losing streak Thursday. The Vikings hit .230 in the match against the Eagles, their best hitting percentage since their season-opening win over Long Beach State on Aug. 24. The Vikings also held Eastern Washington to .161 hitting in the match, only the third time – though the second straight match – that the Vikings had held an opponent to under .200 hitting in a match.
 
Additionally, the Vikings record a season-high 60 kills in the match while committing only 19 errors, a season low for a five-set match. The Vikings were one off their season high with 78 digs against the Eagles, but had five different players end up with 10 or more digs, the first time the Vikings had done that all season.

Most significantly, the Vikings got senior outside hitter Jenna Mullen back from a concussion, giving the Vikings 11 available players in their lineup for the first time since a spate of injuries hindered the Vikings at the start of the Big Sky schedule. Mullen made an immediate impact in her return, as she recorded a double-double – her fourth of the season – with 15 kills and 11 digs.
 
Mullen had six kills, including the final one on set point in the fourth set, when the Vikings leveled the match at two sets apiece. The Vikings played their best set of the entire season in the fourth against the Eagles, as the team hit .487 in the frame – a season high – with 20 kills – also a season high – on 39 attacks while committing only one error.
 
The Eagles ran out to the early lead in the fourth set, but the Vikings used a 10-0 run to take a commanding 14-6 lead that they would not relinquish. A ball handling error by the Vikings ended the run at 10 straight points, but Mullen followed it with three straight kills to give the Vikings a 17-7 lead. The Eagles didn't get closer than eight points the rest of the way, and back-to-back kills from Katy Wilson and Mullen ended the set at 25-14.
 
The Vikings' dominance in the fourth set did not carry over to the fifth set, however, as the Vikings were left to sweat out the early stages of the final frame with the Eagles taking a 6-3 lead. A combo block from Maddy Reeb and Whitney Turner made it 6-4 Eagles, while Toni McDougald sandwiched two kills around an EWU kill to get the Vikings back within one at 7-6. Two straight EWU attack errors followed to give the Vikings their first lead of the set at 8-7.
 
The teams traded points from there and were tied at 11-11 when the Vikings finished the match on a 4-0 run to complete the comeback with a 15-11 win in the fifth. Wilson ended the match with back-to-back kills, giving the senior two of her career-high 17 kills in the match.
 
Wilson led all players with her 17 kills in the match, which came on 35 attack errors and against only two errors. The match continued a return to form for Wilson, who had fallen into a slump after moving to outside hitter following the Vikings' run of injuries at the beginning of Big Sky play. Wilson broke out of the slump while hitting .591 against Southern Utah last Saturday, however, and stayed in that groove while hitting .429 against the Eagles Thursday.
 
The Vikings won their first set of the match in the second, when they mounted another serious run after falling into an early 5-0 hole. The Vikings were down 7-2 before winning 14 of the next 16 points to take a 16-9 lead over the Eagles. The Eagles responded with their own 4-0 to get back within three at 16-13, and the set remained close until a late, 4-0 run for the Vikings gave them a commanding 24-17 lead. The Eagles saved four straight set points to make the Vikings sweat, but Mullen ended it with a crafty kill when she pushed a blocked ball off an attack from Peyton McBride to the back right corner.
 
Besides Mullen, Reeb also finished with a double-double – her third of the season – with 44 assists and 10 digs against the Eagles. Reeb has been the most versatile player for the Vikings amidst the team's injury absences, and filled the stat sheet again Thursday. Reeb led the Vikings with six total blocks against the Eagles, including two solos, and added five kills while committing no errors. Additionally, Reebs' 44 assists marked her second-best assist total of the season, trailing only the 48 assists she had against Long Beach State on Aug. 25.
 
McDougald, meanwhile, joined Wilson and Mullen with double-digit kills, as she had 11 kills against the Eagles, the second straight match and fourth out of the last six that she's gone into double figures.
 
McBride went into double figures in digs for the third straight match since coming back from an illness, as she finished with 14 digs to go with eight kills.
 
Senior libero Hadley Heck led the Vikings with 20 digs against the Eagles, while fellow senior Haley Glass set a career high with 16 digs in the match.
 
The Vikings will now look to maintain their momentum as they travel to face the Idaho Vandals Saturday at 7 p.m. (PT) in Moscow, Idaho. The Vandals beat Sacramento State, 3-1, at home in other Big Sky action Thursday.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 29-27 all time against Eastern Washington with Thursday's win…The Vikings also improved to 17-24 all time in the Big Sky series between them and the Eagles…Wilson added five block assists and four digs to her career-high 17 kills Thursday…Wilson's 20.5 points in the match also marked a career high for the Viking senior.