MOSCOW, Idaho — It's been five years and a day since the Portland State volleyball team hit as efficiently as it did Thursday. The Vikings hit .398 as a team, going .324 or better in every set while sweeping Idaho, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-19), at Memorial Gym to kick off a weekend that features matches on back-to-back days against the Vandals and Eastern Washington.
 
The Vikings (8-6, 2-1 Big Sky) haven't hit better than they did Thursday since Sept. 29, 2016, when they hit .432 in a 3-0 sweep of Montana State. Additionally, the 2016 match marked the Vikings' first time hitting over .400 since a match against Weber State in 2013, meaning Thursday's performance stood as one of the Vikings' most efficient matches over the past eight years.
 
"Credit to our passers tonight for a very efficient offensive performance for our team," head coach Michael Seemann said after Thursday's match.
 
The efficiency came from everywhere for the Vikings. Makayla Lewis, Zoe McBride and Maddy Reeb all finished with at least 10 kills while hitting at least .333 Thursday. Lewis led the Vikings with 14 kills on .333 hitting, while McBride and Reeb were both north of .500. McBride recorded 11 kills while hitting .579, while Reeb posted 10 kills on .529 hitting.
 
Reeb saw her most extensive action of the season Thursday, as she and freshman Teniyah Leuluai traded off with regular starters Parker Webb and Ally Wada in a 6-2 system. The Vikings have flirted with a 6-2 at times this season, but hadn't played it throughout a match until Thursday. Leuluai responded well like Reeb to the extra playing time, as she finished with a career-high 23 assists to go with four digs.
 
"Maddy and T have been really pushing in practice and their hard work has been paying off," Seemann said of the two. "They are confident and clicking really well. We also were mindful of the back-to-back situation, playing Eastern tomorrow, and we wanted to use our depth."
 
It's hard to argue with how Leuluai guided the Viking offense alongside Wada Thursday, as it was efficient from the beginning. The Vikings hit .324 in the opening set, and increased their marks in both sets that followed.
 
Reeb led the Vikings with five kills in the first set, the last of which closed out a 25-20 set-win for the Vikings.
 
Winning the opening set hasn't necessarily mattered for the Vikings this season, as four of the Vikings' eight wins now have come when they actually dropped the first set. The Vikings' comeback DNA showed itself in the second set, however, as the Vandals led for much of the set – even taking a 10-5 lead early in the frame – only to see the Vikings come back late.
 
The Vandals led 19-16 late in the second set, after they broke a 16-16 tie with a 3-0. But that's when the set flipped the Vikings' way. The Vikings won nine of the final 11 points of the set to go up 2-0 on the Vandals. McBride had three kills during the Vikings' late run, including the kill that gave the Vikings their first lead of the set at 21-20.
 
McBride led the Vikings with seven kills on .583 hitting in the second set, while Lewis took the reins in the third. Lewis recorded six kills on .556 hitting in the final frame, including three in an 11-2 run in the middle of the set that gave the Vikings the lead for good. 
 
"We liked our matchup on the left pin tonight, and both Zoe and Makayla took advantage of their opportunities," Seemann said.
 
Lewis went into double figures for kills for the fifth straight match while leading all players with her 14 kills. McBride, meanwhile, added 12 digs to her 11 kills, giving McBride her fourth double-double of the season.
 
Besides the offense, the defense also came from everywhere for the Vikings Thursday, as they held the Vandals to .160 hitting. The Vikings out-blocked the Vandals 7-to-3, while three different Vikings recorded at least three blocks between Genevieve Florig (4), Ashleigh Barto (3) and Parker Webb (3).
 
The Vikings will now have to quickly shift focus from Thursday's match, as they face Eastern Washington at 6 p.m. Friday – 24 hours after the start of their match against the Vandals. The Eagles lost in three sets to Sacramento State Thursday, but posted a quality road win over Southern Utah last weekend.
 
If the Vikings hit like they did tonight, then they could be looking at a rare Big Sky road sweep.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 18-9 all-time against the Vandals after Thursday's win…The Vikings hadn't beaten Idaho in Moscow since a 3-0 win on Oct. 21, 2017, before Thursday…Ellie Snook was held to only nine digs Thursday due to the Vikings' offensive efficiency shortening points…It's only the second time in Snook's 61 career matches she hasn't recorded at least 10 digs.