MISSOULA, Mont. — The Portland State volleyball team's ability to come back this season may only be matched by its ability to test its fans' hearts. Thursday saw the Vikings do both, as they came back from a 2-1 deficit to beat Montana, 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 24-26, 25-18, 15-4), at the cost of maybe a few gray hairs on their fans' heads.
 
But perhaps those Viking fans should have trusted the team more, as the Vikings have come back time and time again this season. The Vikings have five wins this season in which they dropped the opening set, including the program's first 0-2 comeback since 2016, when they erased a two-set deficit against North Dakota State on Sept. 18. Thursday's comeback from 2-1 down offered a bit of a different narrative, but it still showed the Vikings' ability to turn around matches on the fly.
 
The shift came in the fourth set Thursday, as the Vikings found another gear on offense. The team's attack wasn't playing poorly, by any means, but Montana consistently out-hit them in the first three sets, which made it difficult for the Vikings to string any points together. The fourth set saw the Vikings outhit the Grizzlies, .351-to-.241, while the Vikings rolled in the fifth set, recording nine kills on only 13 swings as they hit .692 while the defense held Montana to a negative hitting percentage in the final set.
 
The Vikings scored the first six points of the fifth set, and finished the match on an 8-1 run to close out the match with a 15-4 victory in the final frame. That at least made it a little easier for those worried fans to breath.
 
Head coach Michael Seemann has credited the Vikings' depth as a chief reason for their ability to come back, as players who check out can take a breather and reset before coming back in. The Vikings showed that ability again Thursday, as 11 of the team's 16 players cycled through the match.
 
"We used all of our outsides tonight, which speaks to the readiness of our non-starters, and to all of our players' ability to keep the right attitude when being pulled out," Seemann said afterwards. "Everyone returned to the court at some point tonight, and when they did, they got the job done."
 
Ashleigh Barto found her stroke in the third set, and maintained that form the rest of the way while putting together her best match yet as a Viking. Barto had four kills and three blocks in the third set, then followed that with six kills on .750 hitting in the fourth set to go with a block and an ace. Barto made her presence felt at the net in the fifth set, as she recorded three blocks while her ace on match point closed out the win for the Vikings.
 
All told, Barto set or tied four different career highs Thursday while recording 14 kills on .545 hitting to go with seven blocks and three aces. It all amounted to 21.5 points for the sophomore middle blocker, seven points more than she's had in any other match in her Viking career.
 
"Ashleigh was able to get it going later in the match, partly due to switching to the 5-1 and partly because she developed stronger block moves and got in line with their attackers," Seemann said of Barto.
 
Zoe McBride matched Barto for the team lead with 14 kills of her own Thursday. McBride added 11 digs to record her fifth double-double of the season, and chipped in three aces as well.
 
McBride was the only player with more than two kills in the first set, as she led the Vikings to a come-from-behind win with six kills on .600 hitting in the frame. The Vikings trailed 16-11 in the first set, but then won nine of the next 11 points to take a 20-18 lead. Montana came back to take a 23-22 lead of their own, but the Vikings scored the final three points of the set behind kills from Barto, McBride and Gabby Hollins.
 
McBride also had six kills combined over the fourth and fifth sets, as she helped key the Vikings' comeback from a 2-1 deficit.
 
Makayla Lewis and Parker Webb emerged over the final two sets, after the Vikings' two leading attackers started the match slowly. Eight of Lewis' 12 kills came in the final two sets, while four of Webb's 10 kills came in the fourth set when she hit .667 for the Vikings.
 
Lewis was flawless in the fifth set, as she recorded five kills on five attacks to hit 1.000 in the final frame.
 
The Viking defense also had its best set of the match in the fifth, as they held Montana to negative-.083 hitting after the Grizzlies had hit .240 or better in the middle three sets of the match.
 
All 12 of the Vikings' blocks Thursday came after the opening set. Genevieve Florig was part of all five Viking blocks in the second set, before Barto took over at the net during the final three frames.
 
Ellie Snook also got going after the second set, recording 17 digs combined in the third and fourth sets en route to a match-high 26 digs.
 
Thursday's win over the Grizzlies marked the Vikings' first road win over Montana since Nov. 3, 2016. The Vikings can go for another first-in-a-while road win Saturday, when they face Montana State – a team they haven't beaten on the road since Sept. 28, 2017. First serve between the Vikings and Bobcats is scheduled for 11 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. MT.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 54-18 all-time against Montana with Thursday's win…The Vikings are now 3-0 in five-set matches this season…The Vikings are also 3-5 now when their opponent hits over .200…The Vikings' .288 hitting percentage Thursday was their third-highest mark of the season, trailing only the team's hitting percentages against North Dakota State (.313) and Idaho (.398).