PORTLAND, Ore. — Dye the Willamette green because the Portland State volleyball team used dominant third and fourth sets to top cross-town rival University of Portland, 3-1 (25-11, 21-25, 25-17, 25-7), Thursday at Viking Pavilion.
 
The two Rose City teams were tied at a set apiece and 14-all in the third set when the Vikings (2-4) flipped a switch. Portland State won 11 of the next 14 points to close out the third set, then beat the Pilots 25-7 in the fourth set. Combining the end of the third set and the entirety of the fourth, the Vikings won 36 of the final 46 points in the match.
 
"Strong serving, by far," head coach Michael Seemann said of what fueled his team's finish to the match. "I want that confidence on the first serve, but certainly that strong serving while closing out the third set was huge."
 
Makayla Lewis recorded 13 of her match-high 19 kills in the third and fourth sets. Lewis had four kills in the Vikings' 11-3 run to end the third set, and then followed with seven kills on .583 hitting in the fourth set. Lewis' 19 kills – a career high by five – came on .333 hitting, while Lewis committed only one attack error after it was tied at 14-all in the third set.
 
It was a return to form for Lewis, who sat out the Vikings' match against Long Beach State last Saturday, after a rough outing against then-No. 18 UCLA the previous day.
 
"She's someone where we know what's in there. It's just a question of her staying strong. On the court, mentally strong, but also clearing her slate when she makes mistakes and moving on. She did a great job of bouncing back from anything tonight," Seemann said of Lewis.
 
The Vikings got off to a hot start in the match for the first time this season. The Vikings had been 0-5 in first sets before Thursday, even dropping the opening set of their 3-1 win over Santa Clara on Aug. 28. However, Thursday night, it was 5-1 PSU before the Pilots could blink, and the Viks maintained at least a five-point lead for the rest of the set after going up 10-5.
 
"What we saw on film was what we were able to execute on those first few points. That's what you hope for when it comes to scouting reports. But yeah, we did a great job of just immediately setting the tone at the net," Seemann said of his team's start.
 
Strong play at the net and from the service line fueled the Vikings' hot start. Three of the Vikings' first seven points came off of blocks, with graduate transfer Genevieve Florig recording blocks on two of the three. Additionally, the Vikings had four aces in the first set, three of which came from Zoe McBride in a run of four points that gave the Vikings a 19-9 lead.
 
The Pilots flipped the script on the Vikings in the second set, going up 11-4 behind four early service aces. The Vikings got back within two at 22-20 when Parker Webb recorded her fifth kill of the frame. A sixth kill from Webb made it 23-21, but the Pilots followed with two straight kills of their own to close out the second set.
 
The teams started even in the third set, until the Vikings broke free with their 11-3 run to finish the set. Besides Lewis, Webb had four kills in the third set, while Florig had three. Setter Ally Wada recorded 12 assists and five digs in the frame, as she already had her second double-double of the season by the end of the third set.
 
Wada finished with 31 assists and 11 digs while helping the Viking offense to its best statistical match of the season. The Vikings hit .248 against the Pilots, including a .353 mark in the fourth set when the Vikings had 13 kills against only one attack error.
 
The team's hot hitting meant it was all Vikings in the fourth, as they scored the first six points of the set and 10 of the first 11. Lewis, appropriately, got the Vikings to match point with two kills sandwiched around a combo block between her and Sydney Rabe.
 
Not be outdone by the offense, the Viking defense also had its best match of the season to date, holding the Pilots to .043 and forcing 28 attack errors. Ellie Snook, last season's Big Sky Libero of the Year, finished with 23 digs, seven of which came in the crucial third set. Florig and Lewis also tied each other with four blocks, while Webb added two. 
 
The Vikings also set a season high with 11 aces, with Snook and Lewis adding two each behind McBride's team-high total of four.
 
Thursday's match opened the PDX Classic, which the Vikings are hosting this weekend at Viking Pavilion. UTEP and Grand Canyon face each other in the tournament's next match, which gets underway at 10:30 a.m. Friday. The Vikings will next play at 6:30 p.m. Friday, when they host Grand Canyon.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 36-20 all-time against the Pilots with Thursday's win…The Vikings have won four of their last five against the Pilots, though the Pilots had won the only other match between them at Viking Pavilion, having won 3-1 on Sept. 19, 2019…The seven points by the Pilots in the fourth set Thursday marked the first time the Vikings held an opponent to under 10 points in a set since Sept. 23, 2017, when they held Weber State to six points in the third set of a 3-0 win.