CHENEY, Wash. — Thursday night marked the Portland State volleyball team's best hitting performance in five years. Friday night marked the completion of the Vikings' first Big Sky road weekend sweep in four years.
 
So, it's fair to say this is the best Viking team the Park Blocks have seen in a few years.
 
The Vikings completed their first road sweep since 2017 with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-17) sweep of Eastern Washington Friday at Reese Court. The sweep followed a 3-0 win over Idaho Thursday, meaning the Vikings didn't drop a set to either the Eagles or Vandals this weekend. The road sweep also means the Vikings will head home 3-1 in Big Sky play, with eight of their last 12 conference matches at home.
 
"This was a complete team effort, preparing for this weekend, and it paid off with a road sweep," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said afterwards.
 
Friday marked a unique challenge for the Vikings (9-6, 3-1 Big Sky) as they were playing the second night of a rare back-to-back. The team's match against the Eagles (5-7, 1-3 Big Sky) came only 24 hours after the Vikings' match against the Vandals, cutting the Vikings' usual turnaround down by a full day.
 
There were signs of the quick turnaround in the first set, as the Vikings didn't show the same efficiency they had against Idaho Thursday. The Vikings hit just .128 in the opening set, while Parker Webb had a very uncharacteristic set individually with four attack errors. All that contributed to the Eagles taking a 17-11 lead out of the gates.
 
But those who've followed the Vikings this season – and their four comeback wins after dropping the opening set – knew they were capable of turning around the set. Sure enough, they did. 
 
A big reversal went the Vikings way soon after they took their second timeout of the set, down 17-11. The challenge turned what would have been an 18-12 lead for the Eagles into a 17-13 score line, and the Vikings followed with a kill from Webb and an EWU attack error to get within two at 17-15. The Eagles retook a four-point lead at 19-15, but back-to-back blocks involving Genevieve Florig, Maddy Reeb and Makayla Lewis saw the Vikings tie the set a few points later at 21-all.
 
The Vikings still didn't take the lead until an EWU attack error gave them set point at 24-23. That was only the third lead of the set for the Vikings, but it was all they needed as Webb completed the comeback f with a kill to close out the set.
 
"We found our rhythm late in the first set," Seemann said of his team's late comeback. "We knew what we had to do to win points, but we weren't executing to our potential.
 
"We are playing with confidence right now, so any lulls do not define the set or how we approach points."
 
The Vikings played more to their potential in the second and third sets. After seven attack errors in the opening frame, the Vikings dropped that to five while hitting .233 in the second set. Webb and Reeb both shook off tough opening sets with near-perfect hitting from the right side. Both players finished with four kills in the middle set, with Reeb hitting 1.000, while Webb hit .800. The pair matched each other again in the third set, recording three kills each, with Webb hitting .750 and Reeb .375.
 
Webb and Lewis both had three kills in a 12-2 run in the middle of the second set that gave the Vikings full control. Lewis took the lead early in the run, as the Vikings broke a 7-7 tie with five straight points, the last two coming on kills from Lewis. Webb then took the lead in the latter half of the run, as she had back-to-back kills that made it 18-9.
 
Webb and Florig had two kills each in a 5-0 run in the third set that gave the Vikings the lead for good. Florig's second kill made it 11-7, and the Vikings extended that to a 21-12 lead with a 10-2 run a little later. Defense led the Vikings in the later run, as they forced the Eagles into four attack errors while taking their big lead.
 
Overall, the Viking defense held the Eagles to .085 hitting Friday, the second time this season the Vikings have held an opponent to under .100. Additionally, the Vikings held the Eagles to only nine kills in every set, as they out-killed Eastern Washington 40-to-27.
 
Ellie Snook led the Viking defense with 18 digs against the Eagles. Snook had a rare single-digit dig performance Thursday, as the Vikings' efficiency shortened points and limited her opportunities. Snook returned to double figures Friday, however, and remains well ahead of any other player in the Big Sky with 5.35 digs per set this season.
 
Florig led the Vikings at the net as she matched her total from Thursday with four blocks in only three sets.
 
Offensively, Lewis led the Vikings with 11 kills on .280 hitting, the sixth straight match in which she's had at least 10 kills for the Vikings. Webb didn't record another error after the opening set while finishing with 10 kills on .316 hitting. Reeb finished with eight kills on .438 hitting, completing a strong weekend for her, after she had 10 kills on .529 hitting against Idaho.
 
The Vikings now return home for a homestand against Southern Utah and Northern Arizona next weekend. The Vikings open the weekend against Southern Utah Thursday, before hosting NAU Saturday. Both matches start at 7 p.m.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 33-29 all-time against the Eagles after Friday's win…The Vikings' last Big Sky road sweep also came against Idaho and Eastern Washington in 2017…Morgan Halady checked in late in the third set of Friday's match for her first appearance of the season…The Vikings played a 6-2 again Friday, after playing it from the start of Thursday's match…Ally Wada finished with 18 assists, while freshman Teniyah Leuluai totaled 12.