POCATELLO, Idaho — The last two times the Portland State volleyball team won on the road, the wins came in five setters that lasted over two hours. Thursday, the Vikings won in half that time, as they wrapped up a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-10, 25-22) of Idaho State at Reed Gym in only 66 minutes.
 
It's the fifth 3-0 sweep out of the Vikings' last 11 matches, but the first in a true road match.
 
The Vikings were the cooler, calmer team throughout Thursday's match. The latest the Vikings trailed in a set was when the Bengals led 3-2 in the second set. Otherwise, the Vikings led throughout, including big leads in the first and second sets.
 
"Idaho State had a lot of moving parts, but we prioritized a few attackers and did a good job slowing them down," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said of the match afterwards. "Our serving and transition were very strong tonight."
 
One sign of the Vikings' efficiency Thursday came via their sideout percentage. The Vikings sided out on 66-percent of Idaho State's serves in the first set, ordinarily a strong number. That turned out to the Vikings' lowest percentage of any frame, however, as they sided out on 80 percent of Idaho State's serves in the second set, then 78 percent in the third set.
 
Strong distribution and smart defense helped the Vikings post high sideout percentages. The Vikings outhit Idaho State .292-to-.079 while four different players recorded at least eight kills in the match. Ashlyn Blotzer led the way with a season-high 11 kills, while Sophia Meyers and Parker Webb followed with nine kills each, and Makayla Lewis added eight.
 
Blotzer's 11 kills marked her first time going into double figures for the Vikings. Nine of her 11 kills came in the second and third sets, while she hit .529 in the match. Blotzer put all four of her swings down for kills in the second set, giving her a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage in the frame.
 
"[Ashlyn] worked hard at getting available tonight and Madi [setter Madison Friebel] found her," Seemann said of Blotzer's big night.
 
Defensively, the Bengals' .079 hitting percentage represents a season low for a Viking opponent. The previous season low came in the Vikings' previous match, when they held Montana to .118 hitting last Saturday.
 
The defensive theme was established early Thursday. The Vikings were outhitting the Bengals .538-to-negative-.133 at the 13-6 mark of the first set. The Bengals eventually got back within three at 20-17, but the Vikings closed the frame on a 5-0 run. Meyers had three kills in the 5-0 run, and led the Vikings with five kills in the first set.
 
The Vikings held the Bengals to negative-.061 in the second set, as they sprinted out to a 19-7 lead. Meyers again had a strong stretch amid a 5-0 run for the Vikings that gave them their 12-point lead. She opened the run with a kill, then followed with back-to-back aces to put the Vikings up 17-7.
 
Lewis and Blotzer took the lead in a more competitive third set. Lewis recorded six of her eight kills Thursday in the third set, while Blotzer added five kills to go with two blocks. Blotzer put down the last two kills of the night for the Vikings, the second of which made it 23-20. Two ISU service errors then got the Vikings to the finish line.
 
Meyers finished a kill away from a double-double, as she added 12 digs to her nine kills. She and Webb also finished with two aces each, while Lewis added another. Libero Ellie Snook added 10 digs for the Vikings, while Lewis, Friebel and Webb followed with nine, seven and five digs, respectively.
 
Webb had recorded double-digit kills in seven straight matches heading into Thursday, but won't begrudge missing 10+ kills Thursday considering the 66-minute match.
 
Friebel, meanwhile, posted 33 assists while orchestrating the offense for the Vikings.
 
Thursday's quick match left the Vikings alone atop the Big Sky standings at 6-1 in conference play. Sacramento State had been tied with the Vikings atop the standings, but fell in three sets to Weber State in other action Thursday. The Wildcats now rank second to the Vikings at 5-1 in Big Sky play, making Saturday's match between the two teams a battle for first place in the Big Sky Conference.
 
The Vikings beat the Wildcats 3-0 at Viking Pavilion on Sept. 22, but Saturday's match will be at Swenson Gym where the Vikings haven't won since 2015.
 
So, Viking fans' eyes will be glued to their screens Saturday night when the match kicks off at 5 p.m. (PT) / 6 p.m. (MT). Chances are it will last longer than the Vikings' match Thursday.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 39-26 all time against the Bengals with Thursday's win…Snook's 10 digs Thursday moved her past Northern Arizona's Anna Gott (2009-12) for sixth in Big Sky Conference history.