PORTLAND, Ore. — Sunday's win was sweet. Monday's win marked a sweep.
 
The Portland State volleyball team completed a weekend sweep of Montana Monday, beating the Grizzlies 3-1 (26-24, 25-13, 20-25, 25-18) for the second straight day.
 
Superior defense led the Vikings (3-11, 2-10 Big Sky) to the win, as the team set a season high with 12 blocks while holding the Grizzlies (2-12, 2-12 Big Sky) to .123 hitting in the match. The Vikings have only held one other opponent to a lower hitting percentage than .123, and that was back on the opening weekend of the season against Idaho.
 
Beyond the defense, Monday's win also showed the growing maturity of this Viking team. Whereas bad stretches would have doomed the Vikings earlier in the season, the Vikings answered each one Monday with either good defense or a timely kill. 
 
"It's a combination of not letting a few bad points sink the ship and allow it take over our actions in the experience. That's one piece. The other piece is just experience. We've been in those places and not fought back. Now we're using those experiences to our advantage and putting up a bigger fight in those moments. I think even just the taste of a victory tells you that you can do it, so I think there's a little bit of that built into the team, too, after getting a nice win yesterday," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said afterwards.
 
Serving also became an advantage for the Vikings Monday, as the team out-aced the Grizzlies 9-to-2 in the match. That's the largest discrepancy in the Vikings' favor this season, while their nine aces marked their second most in a match. The Grizzlies' two aces also tied a season low for a Viking opponent, matching the Vandals' total from the Vikings' season-opening win back on Jan. 24.
 
Defense and serving helped the Vikings overcome an inconsistent attack at times. The Vikings hit exceptionally well in the second and fourth sets – topping .300 in both frames – but hit less than .050 in the other two sets. That was a contrast from the Vikings' win over the Grizzlies Sunday, when they hit .256 for their second-best mark in a match this season. The Vikings also posted their second-best kill total in a match with 65 Sunday, but recorded only 47 Monday.
 
The Vikings got the points when they needed them, however, especially in the first set when they fought off a set point to win, 26-24. The Grizzlies out-killed the Vikings 17-to-8 in the first set, but the Vikings pulled it out thanks to a defense that forced the Grizzlies into 11 attack errors.
 
Freshman Gabby Hollins accounted for half of the Vikings' eight kills in the set, with her last kill giving the Vikings a 19-17 lead late in the set. The Vikings went up 23-22 with their second ace of the set, but then gave up back-to-back kills to the Grizzlies, who earned the first set point at 24-23. A Montana attack error erased that threat, while another ace – this time from sophomore libero Ellie Snook – closed out the set for the Vikings.
 
The second set held much less drama, as the Vikings stormed to a 25-13 victory while outhitting the Grizzlies .342-to-.028. The Vikings doubled their kill total from the first set, posting 16 in the frame while holding the Grizzlies to seven.
 
An 8-0 run in the middle of the set took any suspense out of the frame, as that gave the Vikings a 16-6 lead. 
 
Hollins had company this time, as Parker Webb and Zoe McBride each posted four kills alongside Hollins for the Vikings.
 
Hollins and McBride repeated that feat in the fourth set – recording four kills each, once again – but an extended 12-3 run gave the Grizzlies full control. The Grizzlies closed out the set a few points later, 25-20, as the Vikings fell back into their form in the first set, hitting .030.
 
The Vikings responded well to the setback, however, staying ahead of the Grizzlies in a tight start to the fourth set. The Grizzlies got back within one at 18-17 after the Vikings had stretched the lead a bit, but the Vikings answered by winning seven of the final eight points to close out the match.
 
McBride provided the final kill for the Vikings, one of her 13 on the day as she posted another double-double. McBride added 17 digs to her 13 kills Monday, and now has three double-doubles in the Vikings' past four matches.
 
"What you wouldn't see in the stats is that we're in a two-person serve receive and so Zoe's touching the ball almost every rally. So, she's taking on a way bigger role than she had been. For her to still come out and put away balls and get another double-double is huge," Seemann said of McBride.
 
"One of the charges for [McBride] was to be more terminal in practice and I thought that came out tonight, too. I couldn't be more proud of how she's handling her bigger role."
 
Freshman Ashleigh Barto led the Vikings with a career-high seven blocks, continuing her hot streak of late. Barto set a career high for kills in Sunday's match, recording 12 kills on .550 hitting against the Grizzlies. The freshman middle blocker also entered the Big Sky rankings for blocks per set following the previous weekend at Montana State, when she combined for 11 blocks in both matches against the Bobcats.
 
Barto's freshman classmate, Hollins, led the Vikings with 14 kills Monday while finishing two digs away from a double-double with eight digs. Webb finished a dig away from a double-double herself, posting 10 kills on .310 hitting to go with nine digs.
 
Snook matched McBride with 17 digs to lead the Vikings. Junior Ally Wada led the team with 28 assists to go with 12 digs for her eighth double-double of the season.
 
The Vikings have a short turnaround before heading to Sacramento State for two road matches Friday and Saturday, March 12-13. Friday's match starts at 6 p.m. PT, while Saturday starts at 1 p.m.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 53-18 all-time against the Grizzlies following Monday's win…The Vikings tied a season high with five solo blocks Monday, with sophomore Julia Haynie leading the way with two.