For the second time this season, Portland State men's tennis dual came down to a third set in the final match. This time, they changed their luck and picked up a crucial conference win against last year's Big Sky runner-up Montana.

The Vikings have now defeated defending champions Idaho and last year's runner-up in Montana, vastly improving their odds to make a repeat trip to the Big Sky Conference tournament.

Sam Roberts battled it out with Pontus Hallgren after all the other matches had ended, leaving the fate of the dual in the hands of the No. 6 players. Roberts took the opening set 6-4 but was blitzed in the second, falling 0-6.

This created a similar scenario to the Vikings' 3-4 loss to Sacramento State in the same building, where they fell in the final set of the No. 6 match.

Roberts regained his composure in the third set, however, using an aggressive ground game to jump out to a 5-1 lead and up a couple breaks. He held on in the end, winning 6-2 in the final set to clinch the victory.

Roberts switched up his play in the final set, forcing his opponent to come up to the net more often. It paid off, as he ripped passing shot after passing shot down the line in the final set.

"Sam had some amazing passing shots and I'm just so happy for him because he lost a number of three-set matches early in the year but he is much better than that," Head Coach Toby Krauel said. "He is an amazing tennis player and to have him playing six in our lineup shows how deep and good we are."

Roberts and the Vikings showed the heart that this team has played with all season in what was about as close of a match as possible. There was only one singles match that finished in two sets as the pair of teams with championship potential didn't back down from one another.

The Grizzlies took the doubles point, building a quick 1-0 lead and doing what not many teams have done against the Vikings this season. Momentum shifted quickly back in favor of the hosts, however, as they won the first set comfortably in three of the first four matches on court.

Matteo Fortini, playing No. 2 for the second time this season, followed up his first set win with a dominant win in the second as well for a 6-2, 6-0 win that evened the match at 1-all.

Montana answered back from the slow start in singles, however, and would retake the lead with a win at No. 3. But just as soon as Montana had jumped ahead again, Nikola Dimitrijevic closed out a comeback win at No. 4 to put things back on level ground again.

He dropped his opening set 4-6, but controlled from then on winning the final two 6-2, 6-2 to stay perfect in Big Sky play.

The Vikings then took their first lead of the match by way of the red-hot Lucas Castelo Branco. The senior won his fourth straight match and remained perfect against Big Sky opponents with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 win.

Avery West had a hard battle at No. 5 and nearly clinched it for the Vikings. After losing the opening set 0-6, West responded with a 6-2 win in the second set. He trailed in the third but came back once again, going ahead 6-5 late. Montana's Oisin Shaffrey would force a tiebreak and win that to bring the match to 3-3.

"Lucas played phenomenal at one and Matteo rolled at two pretty comfortably," Krauel said. "Niko stayed hot and won again. Avery had a great comeback in his match taking it all the way to the tiebreak in the third. Tommy had a three-set battle. There were just battles everywhere."

That set the stage for Roberts, who had lost a number of close matches this year but bucked that trend in the biggest way.

The Vikings now prepare for Eastern Washington tomorrow with the hopes of a 4-1 start to conference play. The match will begin at 1 p.m. at the Vancouver Tennis Center and is the last home conference match for the Vikings this season.

"The guys played great," Krauel said. "It's a great win to go 3-1 in the conference and get Montana who is a very good team and it helps us look to tomorrow and feel confident against Eastern Washington. Our goal was to get out of this home stretch with a good record and we're on the way to that now."

MATCH NOTES: The Vikings improve to 2-12 all-time vs. Montana … Lucas Castelo Branco remained perfect in Big Sky play at 4-0 … Nikola Dimitrijevic also is 4-0 against Big Sky opponents … Matteo Fortini is now 3-1 in Big Sky play and 2-0 at No. 2 this year … Sam Roberts improves his record to 4-6 on the year, 2-2 in conference matches.