PORTLAND, Ore. — Volleyball returned to the fall, and joy returned to the stands Monday afternoon at Viking Pavilion. Playing in front of fans for the first time in nearly two years, the Portland State volleyball team showed its appreciation for a tempered return to normalcy with a rare, 5-0 sweep over Central Washington.
 
The Vikings and Wildcats agreed to play five sets regardless of the outcome of each set, leading to the rare 5-0 score line in favor of the Vikings.

Not as rare as the 5-0 score line, but still just as exciting for everyone in attendance, was the energy in the building Monday.
 
"Amazing environment," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said of the atmosphere. "It just felt like a home event. The energy and contribution we got from the bench was awesome. I feel like that's something we've never really had before and it was good to see."
 
It was fitting that the bench be so engaged Monday considering all 16 Vikings got some playing time. Contributions came from up and down the team's roster, as five players finished with at least eight kills, three players totaled at least 10 digs, and six players tallied at least three blocks.
 
"We wanted to give everyone a chance to compete. Get all the butterflies, or at least the first few, out before the matches start to count. Success and failure have more weight when you're playing in front of people," Seemann said of his plan to play everyone before the exhibition.
 
"I wanted the newcomers and freshmen, especially, to get to experience that, where you feel the weight of it without a true consequence given the exhibition and the score line."
 
Fifth-year senior Parker Webb led the Viking offense with 12 kills on .346 hitting despite playing only four sets of the match. Sophomore Gabby Hollins followed with 11 kills on .233 hitting in only three sets of action. Fifth-year senior Maddy Reeb chipped in nine kills, while Zoe McBride and Makayla Lewis contributed eight kills each.
 
Despite the 5-0 score line, there were still some signs that this was the team's first match against an outside opponent this season. The shuffling of the lineup may have contributed to some uneven play at times from the Viking offense, as players frequently readjusted to new personnel.
 
"We have a lot of work to do. Offensively, set location, hitting choices, timing, spacing, all that. We still learned, as coaches, more of what people are capable of, but at the same time, we need to do a better job of getting in rhythm with each other offensively, and within hitting units," Seemann said after the match.
 
The Viking offense didn't have to do much in the first set, as the team's defense led the team to a dominant 25-8 set win while holding the Wildcats to negative-.231 hitting. Four blocks contributed to the Vikings' defensive effort, with sophomore Ashleigh Barto leading the way with three block assists individually. The strong defense also gave the Vikings a ridiculous 88.8 percent sideout percentage in the set, as the team converted eight of their nine sideout opportunities.
 
The Vikings converted 15 of 18 sideout opportunities in the second set, as the offense started to fire up with 15 kills on .300 hitting. McBride played her best set of the match in the second set with a team-high five kills, while Hollins and Webb followed with four and three kills, respectively.
 
Seemann rotated his players more in the third set, with Jasmine Powell, Lily Snook and Sydney Rabe all making their first appearances of the match. Lewis and Reeb led the way with four kills each in the set, with Lewis hitting .400 individually. Defense again led the way behind eight digs from junior libero Ellie Snook, as she and the Vikings held Central Washington to negative-.122 hitting in the set.
 
Webb played her best offensive set in the fourth, finishing with four kills on .444 hitting. Rabe recorded all three of her kills in the fourth set, as well, converting three of her four attempts with no errors.
 
Hollins and Snook dominated either side of the fifth, as Hollins recorded six of the team's eight kills in the set, while Snook accounted for eight of the team's 17 digs.
 
Snook finished with 27 digs to lead the Vikings defensive, with Lewis (13 digs) and setter Ally Wada (12 digs) joining her in double figures. Wada's 12 digs gave her yet another double-double after she had 11 in 17 matches during the Vikings' shortened 2021 spring season. Wada added 36 assists to her 12 digs Monday, and also led the team with four service aces.
 
Barto, Lewis and Webb all finished with four blocks to lead the way at the net. Ten different Vikings recorded at least one block, with Rabe, Reeb and Riley Daniel behind the top three with three blocks each.
 
Overall, the Vikings finished with 14 blocks as a team Monday, as they held the Wildcats to negative-.043 hitting for the match.
 
The Vikings officially open their season Friday at No. 14 Oregon, where they'll face the Ducks in the first match of Oregon's home tournament. The Vikings face the Ducks at 1 p.m. Friday, before playing Santa Clara at 11 a.m. the following day in Eugene. The Vikings host their first counting home match Sunday, Aug. 29 against San Jose State at 12 p.m.