PORTLAND, Ore. — Two days removed from a 3-1 defeat to the University of Portland in its home gym, the Portland State volleyball team returned the favor to the Pilots, beating them 3-1 at the Chiles Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
Saturday's match offered the rare chance for the Vikings to get an immediate compare-and-contrast between two matches against the same opponent. After Thursday, the two things head coach Michael Seemann said he wanted to see his Vikings (4-7) improve in their rematch against the Pilots (8-3) were kill production and defending the Pilots' hitters. The Vikings accomplished both in spades.
 
The Vikings recorded more kills by the end of the third set Saturday than they had in the whole match Thursday, and finished with their highest kill total in a four-set match this season – and second-highest overall – with 51. Additionally, the Vikings held the Pilots to .163 hitting after they hit .218 against the Vikings on Thursday. The Vikings held the Pilots to .021 in the decisive fourth set, when the Vikings forced 10 attack errors from UP.
 
"Those are the two things we emphasized coming in here [kill production and defending their hitters], and it made a huge difference," Seemann said after the match. "I also feel like we made a decision in that fourth set to defend, and to put more effort into it. I felt like that was huge for us. We were able to get a little bit of momentum there and pull away. I'm just super proud of how they came in here and played today."
 
The win gives the Vikings a boost of confidence at the end of their non-conference schedule, as they move into Big Sky play next week with a road trip to Idaho and Eastern Washington. The Pilots swept Idaho at their home tournament earlier in the season, and also beat another Big Sky school in Weber State, 3-1.
 
"This win is a great way to jump into the Big Sky season, mostly so our players are aware as to where their potential lies," Seemann said. "I think we see it, of course, but they experienced that today. For them to be able to do that against a good team, as UP is, and in their home gym? I mean, that's even better than a team-bonding trip to the beach."
 
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Parker Webb led the Vikings' improved attack against the Pilots as she set a career-high with 19 kills on .415 hitting in the match. Webb has now had 10 or more kills in five straight matches, and had five or more kills in three of the four sets Saturday. Webb's .415 hitting percentage was also her second-best of the season so far, as she finished with only two attack errors on 41 total swings.
 
Freshman setter Caroline Dragani fed Webb and the other Viking attackers well throughout the match, recording her third double-double in the past five matches with 42 assists and a career-high 15 digs. Dragani's 42 assists marked a career high for her in a four-set match, as well as her second-highest total in any match this season.
 
Senior Toni McDougald and freshman Jasmine Powell also each had double-doubles on the outside for the Vikings, with McDougald recording 12 kills and 12 digs while Powell finished with 11 kills and 10 digs.
 
Powell also tied the career high she set Thursday against the Pilots with five blocks in the match, while the Vikings recorded 12 blocks as a team. A concern at the start of the season, the Vikings' block has emerged as a strength as the Vikings have recorded double-digit blocks in five of their last six matches, including 15 against the Pilots on Thursday.
 
It wasn't the block that got the Vikings going early in the match, however, as much as it was the Vikings' improved attack. The Vikings finished with more kills in the first set against the Pilots Saturday (14) than they had in any set against the Pilots on Thursday. Webb led the way once again with five kills in the opening set, including back-to-back kills as part of a 5-0 run that gave the Vikings a critical 18-14 lead.
 
The Pilots responded with five straight points of their own to take an 19-18 lead, but a kill from McDougald, followed by a service ace from junior Maddy Reeb and a slide kill from redshirt sophomore Jordan White put the Vikings back in control at 22-20. UP came back to tie it at 22-22 and 23-23, but a UP error followed by an unconventional kill from Powell on a pushed ball over the net gave the Vikings the set, 25-23.
 
Powell then helped ignite the Vikings' blocking at the start of the second set. Powell contributed three blocks in the Vikings' first nine points of the set, giving her four total blocks already by that point in the match.
 
McDougald also came alive in the attack for the Vikings, as she recorded six kills in the second set alone after only having two in the first set. 
 
McDougald had back-to-back kills following a lost challenge for UP at 17-17 in the second set. Those kills came as part six straight points for the Vikings, giving them a commanding 22-17 lead late in the set. UP answered with three straight points to get back within two, but back-to-back errors gave the Vikings set point at 24-21.
 
McDougald ended the set on her sixth kill of the frame two points later, putting the Vikings up 2-0 in the match.
 
The UP attack woke up in the third set, hitting .317 in the frame after the Vikings had held them to .169 through the first two sets of the match.
 
The third set was more in line with what UP was able to do against the Vikings Thursday, but the Viking defense answered the challenge this time to put the Vikings in control at the start of the fourth. The Vikings forced UP into eight attack errors early in the fourth set, as the Pilots were hitting minus-.029 as the Vikings ran out to a 15-9 lead.
 
The 7-0 run to go up 15-9 was only the first of two 7-0 runs for the Vikings in the fourth set. The Vikings' second 7-0 run came a few points later, and put them fully in control, up 23-11. Webb had two kills in the Vikings' second 7-0 run, while McDougald and White combined for a block to go with one kill each.
 
McDougald finished off the match with her 11th kill against the Pilots, giving the Vikings a 25-14 set victory in the fourth.
 
White led all players with seven blocks in the match, and is now averaging a Big Sky-leading 1.83 blocks per set this season.
 
Freshman libero Ellie Snook was also one assist away from her first double-double as a Viking, posting a career-high nine assists to go with a match-high 23 digs.
 
Freshman middle blocker Julia Haynie also had two kills to go with three blocks in the match.
 
The Vikings now turn their attention to Big Sky play, which they will open Thursday at Idaho at 6 p.m. (PT).
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 35-20 all time against UP with the win…The Vikings and Pilots have now split their last 10 matches against each other.