FIRST SERVE

The Portland State volleyball team heads into this week's Big Sky tournament as the No. 2 seed thanks to a five-set, comeback win over Sacramento State last Friday. That win marked only the sixth ever for the Vikings at Sacramento State's home gym, The Nest, and provided the Vikings with a bit of momentum heading into the tournament.
 
If nothing else, the Vikings showed the fight they'll need at this week's tournament in the match against the Hornets. The Vikings overcame a 5-0 deficit at the start of the fifth set, winning 10 of the next 12 points and 15 of the final 19 to seal the match. Additionally, the Vikings came back from a first-set loss in which they squandered a set point by winning the next two sets en route to their five-set win.
 
That fight will serve the Vikings well Wednesday, when they open the tournament with a quarterfinal match against seventh-seeded Eastern Washington at 3 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. MT. All tournament matches will be held at Weber State's Swenson Gym in Ogden, Utah.
 
The Vikings likely won't need extra motivation for their quarterfinal match against the Eagles. They'll want revenge after Eastern Washington beat the Vikings on Senior Night at Viking Pavilion on Nov. 12. Last Friday's win over the Hornets helped wipe away the taste of that loss, but only a bit. A win Wednesday would do a lot more.
 
The Eagles will make the Vikings earn it, however. They come into the Big Sky tournament as winners of two of their last three matches, including their win over the Vikings. The Eagles very easily could have won three matches in a row to finish the regular season, as they led Big Sky regular-season champion Northern Colorado two sets to none last Friday. The Bears came back to win in five sets, but the Eagles still showed themselves to be a dangerous team with their performance in the match.
 
Blocking has helped the Eagles turn their season around of late. They've averaged 2.33 blocks per set during their last three matches, three-tenths higher than their season-long average of 2.03. That's helped them hold their last three opponents to .206 hitting combined, a significant drop from their season-long opponent hitting percentage of .251.
 
Alyssa Radke and Renata Lopez Morales have both averaged 1.00 blocks per set in the team's last three matches individually, while Sadie Bacon is averaging 0.83 blocks per set. Those three have all featured prominently in the Eagles' offense. Radke leads the team with 2.50 kills per set, while Lopez Morales and Bacon are both averaging 2.42 kills per set during that stretch.
 
Of course, the Vikings have been a tough offense for teams to stop themselves. They showed that last Friday more than any other match this season, as they set the highest hitting percentage for a Big Sky team against the Hornets. The Vikings hit .286 in the match, nearly double the Hornets' league-leading opponent hitting percentage of .154 coming into the match.
 
Madison Friebel orchestrated the attack while setting a new career high with 60 assists against the Hornets. Parker Webb and Makayala Lewis, meanwhile, both set new season highs with 23 and 22 kills, respectively. Webb recorded her 23 kills on .400 hitting, while Lewis hit .288.
 
Both Webb and Lewis also recorded double-doubles with 13 and 14 digs, respectively, in the match. Libero Ellie Snook led all players while tying her season high with 31 digs in the match, as the Viking defense held the Hornets to .150 hitting.
 
The defensive numbers may have been the most promising thing about the win over the Hornets. Four of the Vikings' previous five opponents – including the Eagles – had hit over .200 against the Vikings, a line that has meant the difference between wins and losses for the Vikings this season. Coming into the conference tournament, the Vikings are 16-2 this season when they hold opponents to under .200 hitting, but just 0-9 when opponents hit above the mark.
 
The Eagles hit .219 against the Vikings in their win two weekends ago. So, the Vikings know that number will need to drop Wednesday.
 
It helps that the Vikings know they have the fight in them to do it, as they showed last Friday at Sacramento State.
 

A WIN WOULD…

• Avenge a 3-1 loss to Eastern Washington on the Vikings' Senior Night on Nov. 12.
• Advance the Vikings to the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament on Friday, Nov. 25. The Vikings would play either third-seeded Weber State or sixth-seeded Montana State in that match. First serve would be at 5 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. MT.

 

QUARTERFINALS: #2 PORTLAND STATE (16-11, 11-5) vs. #7 EASTERN WASHINGTON (11-17, 6-10)

LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Wednesday, Nov. 23, 3 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. MT, Ogden, Utah (Swenson Gym)
SCOUTING #7 EASTERN WASHINGTON: The Eastern Washington Eagles didn't clinch their spot in the Big Sky tournament until the final day of the regular season when they swept Northern Arizona at home last Saturday. The Eagles nearly pulled off an upset a day earlier when they took the first two sets off of Big Sky regular-season champion Northern Colorado, only to lose in five sets. If the Eagles had pulled off that win over the Bears, it would have given them three straight wins to finish the regular season, as they also beat the Vikings on Portland State's Senior Night on Nov. 12. That match will make Wednesday's quarterfinal a revenge match for the Vikings, who will want to avenge that loss. The Vikings beat the Eagles earlier in the season, as like the Bears last week, they erased a two-set deficit to come back and beat the Eagles in five on Sept. 24. The Eagles held a match point in the third set of that match, but the Vikings saved it on their way to the win. Statistically, the Eagles rank eighth in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.184) and seventh in kills (11.7) and assists (10.9) per set during Big Sky play. The Eagles have been a strong serving team at times this season, as they rank fifth in the Big Sky with 1.51 aces per set during the conference season. Defensively, the Eagles ranked ninth in the Big Sky for opponent hitting percentage (.251) and digs per set (12.6) while standing eighth in blocks per set (2.03) during Big Sky play. Individually, Alyssa Radke leads the Eagles with 3.20 kills per set in Big Sky play, ranking her 10th in the conference. Sage Brustad leads the team with 3.33 kills per set across all matches, but that number dropped to 2.90 kills per set within the conference season. Renata Lopez Morales ranks third in the conference in hitting percentage during the Big Sky season, as she's hit .356 against conference opponents. Those three, along with Sadie Bacon, have all helped lead the Eagles during their recent hot streak to close the regular season. Radke has led the Eagles with 2.50 kills per set in the team's last three matches, while Lopez Morales and Bacon have both averaged 2.42 kills per set during the stretch (Lopez Morales has done it while hitting .500). Brustad, meanwhile, has averaged 2.00 kills per set during the recent three-match stretch. Blocking has been the biggest key for the Eagles during their hot streak. They're averaging 2.33 blocks per set while holding opponents to just .206 hitting, both significant improvements over their numbers over the course of the whole season. Radke and Lopez Morales are both averaging 1.00 blocks per set during the team's last three matches, while Bacon is averaging 0.83 blocks per set.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Eagles, 34-30. The teams split their two matches this season with both teams winning on the other's home floor. The Vikings came from two sets and a match point down to beat the Eagles in five sets in Cheney on Sept. 24. The Eagles exacted their revenge on the Vikings' Senior Night, beating PSU in four sets on Nov. 12.
 

STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS

• The Vikings recorded just their sixth win ever at Sacramento State's home gym, The Nest, with a five-set win last Friday in their regular-season finale. The Vikings overcame a 5-0 deficit at the start of the fifth set, winning 10 of the next 12 points and 15 of the final 19 to win the match.
• Parker Webb and Ellie Snook swept the Big Sky Player of the Week honors Monday, after they helped lead the Vikings to their win over Sacramento State. Webb earned offensive honors after recording a season-high 23 kills on .400 hitting against the Hornets. Snook earned defensive honors after tying her season high with 31 digs in the match.
• The Vikings had dropped four of their previous five matches between their win over the Hornets. That stretch included a 3-1 home loss on Nov. 12 to Eastern Washington, the Vikings' opponent Wednesday.
• The Vikings started Big Sky play 9-1, which was their best start to conference play since they went 14-1 at the start of the 2012 conference season.
• The key indicator for the Viking this season has been their opponent's hitting percentage. The Vikings are 16-2 when they hold their opponent to under .200 hitting and 0-9 when opponents have hit above .200 this season.
• The Viking offense finished the regular season with the most kills per set (14.2) and assists per set (13.4) within conference matches. The Vikings also ranked second in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.247) during the conference season.
• Three different Vikings rank in the top 10 of the Big Sky while averaging at least 3.00 kills per set in conference play. Parker Webb and Makayla Lewis rank third and fourth, respectively, with 3.60 and 3.58 kills per set against Big Sky opponents. Sophia Meyers, meanwhile, ranks 10th in the conference with 3.07 kills per set. All three players have recorded at least 10 kills in the same match eight different times out of 16 Big Sky matches this season.
• Parker Webb has recorded 10+ kills in nine straight matches and 15 of the team's 16 Big Sky matches. The only conference match in which she missed double figures was the Vikings' 66-minute sweep of Idaho State on Oct. 13, and she still totaled nine kills in that match.
• Ellie Snook – the Vikings' career leader in digs as of the team's match at Northern Arizona on Oct. 1 – became just the fourth player to reach 2,000-career digs in conference history during the Vikings match at Montana State on Nov. 5. The milestone put Snook alongside Sacramento State's Kristin Lutes (2003-06), Idaho State's Haylie Keck (2016-19) and Montana State's Allyssa Rizzo (2016-19) as the only players in conference history to reach 2,000-career digs.
• Setter Madison Friebel ranks second in the Big Sky with 11.4 assists per set against Big Sky opponents. She set a career high with 60 assists last Friday against Sacramento State while leading the Vikings to .286 hitting as a team, the best mark of any Big Sky opponent against the Hornets this season. Overall, she recorded 50+ assists three times during the conference season, and totaled 40+ assists in 10 of the team's 16 conference matches.
• Parker Webb leads the Big Sky and ranks 48th in the NCAA with 0.44 aces per set. She's one of three Vikings who rank in the top 10 of the Big Sky for aces per set, as the Vikings rank second in the conference and 77th in the nation with 1.65 aces per set as a team. Besides Webb, Sophia Meyers ranks fifth in the conference with 0.35 aces per set while Ellie Snook ranks eighth with 0.34 aces per set.
• Middle blocker Ashleigh Barto ranks ninth in the Big Sky with a .320 hitting percentage against conference opponents. Fellow middle blockers Ashlyn Blotzer and Morgan Halady have also hit .296 and .286, respectively, during Big Sky play.
• Parker Webb broke the Division I program record for matches played and sets played earlier this season and has moved up the all-time rankings within several other categories as well. Webb now ranks second in Division I program history in kills (1,438), aces (156), points (1,740.5) and attempts (3,984). She also ranks eighth in hitting percentage at .246.
• The Vikings' win over Sacramento State last Friday marked their fourth five-set win of the season out of five matches overall. All five of the team's five-set matches have come on the road.
• Portland State won its first match over a Pac-12 opponent since 2017 while picking up its first win over Oregon State since 1990 with a 3-1 win over the Beavers on Aug. 27 at the Hotel Vance Rose City Showdown. It's only the sixth win for the Vikings out of 50 matches against Pac-12 opponents during the program's Division I era.
• The Vikings played an extremely tough non-conference schedule that featured five teams that won at least 20 matches last season. The tough non-conference schedule means the Vikings rank 122nd in the latest RPI rankings, second among all Big Sky teams behind only Northern Colorado at 103rd.
• The Vikings hosted both Oregon and Oregon State on the opening weekend of the season, the first time they've hosted both in-state Pac-12 programs in a season since 2010. The Vikings also played the University of Portland on Sept. 15, making this season the first time since 2005 that the Vikings have played all three of the other in-state NCAA Division I programs.
• The Vikings added six newcomers this season, including three Division I transfers in Ashlyn Blotzer (Eastern Washington), Madison Friebel (Butler) and Sophia Meyers (Montana). Blotzer comes to the Vikings after earning All-Big Sky second-team honors with the Eagles following each of the past two seasons. Friebel, meanwhile, was a two-year starting setter at Butler, while Meyers led the Grizzlies in kills during her lone season there during the COVID-altered 2021 winter season. The Vikings added a fourth transfer in Ella Hartford from William Jessup, an NAIA school. Freshmen Kendra Duffey and Danica Wulf, club teammates for Tstreet Volleyball Club, joined the Vikings following their prep careers.
• The Vikings are coming off their first 20-win season since 2017, as they went 20-11 overall last season. Their 12-4 conference record last season was also their best Big Sky mark since going 17-3 in 2013.
• The Vikings returned five starters off last year's team in outside hitters Makayla Lewis, Zoe McBride and Parker Webb, middle blocker Ashleigh Barto, and libero Ellie Snook. Lewis, Snook and Webb were all All-Big Sky first-team selections last season. Lewis was also named the Big Sky's Top Newcomer, while Snook earned her second straight Big Sky Libero of the Year honor.

 

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER

The Viking offense had one of its best matches of the season last Friday in the Vikings' five-set win over Sacramento State to close the season. The Hornets came into the match leading the Big Sky in opponent hitting percentage, as they were holding opponents to just .154 hitting in Big Sky play. But the Vikings nearly doubled that as they hit .286 for the best mark of any conference opponent against the Hornets. The performance came eight days after the Vikings recorded their best offensive match in nine years against Idaho on Nov. 10. The Vikings hit .471 in that match, marking their best hitting percentage in a match since they hit .542 against Weber State on Oct. 19, 2013. The Vikings head into the Big Sky tournament now having finished the regular season ranked first in the Big Sky in both kills per set (14.2) and assists per set (13.4) during the conference season. The Vikings also stand second in the Big Sky in hitting percentage, having .247 as a team within Big Sky play. Setter Madison Friebel has led the Vikings to those high statistical categories as she's coordinated a diversified attack. Friebel ranks second in the Big Sky with 11.4 assists per set during the conference season, while her even distribution means that three different players rank in the top 10 of the Big Sky with at least 3.00 kills per set in conference matches. Parker Webb and Makayla Lewis rank third and fourth, respectively, with 3.60 and 3.58 kills per set in conference play. Sophia Meyers follows those two at 10th with 3.07 kills per set against Big Sky opponents. Those three also all rank in the top 10 for points per set across all matches this season. Lewis and Webb rank fifth and sixth in the Big Sky with 3.79 and 3.76 points per set, respectively, while Meyers ranks eighth with 3.58 points per set.
 

WHY ARE YOU SO DEFENSIVE, BRO?

Holding teams under .200 hitting seems to be the biggest bellwether of success for the Vikings this season. The Vikings held the Hornets to .150 hitting in their five-set win at Sacramento State last Friday, after four of the team's previous five opponents had all hit above .200. All told, the Vikings are 16-2 when they hold opponents to under .200 hitting and 0-9 when opponents hit above .200. Statistically, the Vikings rank second in the Big Sky with 15.7 digs per set while they also rank fourth in the conference in terms of opponent hitting percentage (.188). Four different Vikings are averaging at least 2.60 digs per set during Big Sky play. Libero Ellie Snook leads the group with 5.20 digs per set against Big Sky opponents, while Makayla Lewis (2.85 d/s), Sophia Meyers (2.78 d/s) and Madison Friebel (2.60 d/s) join her. Snook also leads the conference with 4.72 digs per set across all matches this season, an average that ranks her 40th in the NCAA.
 

ACE IN THE HOLE

The Vikings are averaging just 1.17 aces per set over their last six matches after averaging 1.81 aces per set through their first 21 matches. But the Vikings still rank second in the Big Sky with 1.65 aces per set with three different players in the top 10 individually. Parker Webb headlines the group as she leads the conference while ranking 48th in the NCAA with 0.44 aces per set this season. Sophia Meyers ranks fifth in the Big Sky with 0.35 aces per set, while Ellie Snook ranks eighth with 0.34 aces per set. Webb's average of 0.44 aces per set across all matches would set a new single-season program record if the season ended today. Snook set the previous record last season, when she averaged 0.42 aces per set. Webb and Snook have rewritten the career record book this season, as well, as they now rank second and tied for third all time, respectively, within the program's Division I era. Webb ranks second in Division I history with 154 career aces, while Snook ranks tied with Sarah Sirianni (2003-06) for third with 128 career aces.
 

MAK ATTACK

The Big Sky's Top Newcomer last year, Makayla Lewis has been an opposing team's nightmare since she joined the Vikings. Lewis has been a particular bother to opposing teams recently. She recorded her fourth 20-kill match of the season with 22 kills on .288 hitting to go with 14 digs and three blocks in the Vikings' five-set win at Sacramento State. She also had a big weekend in Montana, recording 20 kills against the Grizzlies on Nov. 3 and then following it up with her first 15-15 match of the season with 19 kills and 16 digs against Montana State on Nov. 5. Overall, Lewis has recorded at least 15 kills in seven of the team's 16 Big Sky matches this season, including both of the Vikings' matches against Weber State, Montana State and Sacramento State. She leads the Vikings with 3.38 kills per set this season, an average that ranks her third in the Big Sky. She also ranks fifth in the conference with 3.79 points per set. Lewis has seven matches this season in which she's recorded at least 10 kills while hitting .300 or better. One of those came in the Vikings' 3-1 win over Oregon State on Aug. 27, their first win over the Beavers since 1990. Lewis finished with 14 kills on .324 hitting in the match, as she led the Vikings to their first big win of the season.
 

WEBB SLINGER

Spider-Man, or Spider-Woman, in our universe goes by the name of Parker Webb. Not Peter Parker. Parker Webb has recorded at least 10 kills in nine straight matches and 15 of the team's 16 Big Sky matches. The only conference match in which she missed 10+ kills was the team's 66-minute sweep of Idaho State on Oct. 13, and she still had nine kills in that match. She played her best match of the season last Friday, recording a season-high 23 kills on .400 hitting in the Vikings' five-set win over Sacramento State to close the regular season. The previous weekend, Webb set a career high by hitting .750 against Idaho on Nov. 10, as she recorded 12 kills on only 16 swings in the match. Webb followed with 17 kills on .517 hitting against Eastern Washington on Nov. 12, the fourth time this season that she's hit over .500 in a match while also recording at least 12 kills. Webb now ranks third in the conference with 3.60 kills per set in conference matches, while she finished the conference season hitting .312. But Webb's contributions haven't just been in terms of kills. She's also been the toughest server within the conference this season. Webb leads the Big Sky and ranks 48th in the nation with 0.44 aces per set, an average that would break teammate Ellie Snook's single-season school record of 0.42 aces per set if the season ended today. Additionally, Webb's production from all facets of the game has meant that she's moved up the career rankings at Portland State within several categories this season. She's already broken the Division I program records for matches played (143) and sets played (520), and now ranks second in Division I history in kills (1,438), aces (156), points (1,740.5) and attempts (3,984). She also ranks eighth in Division I history with a .246 career hitting percentage.
 

SOPHIA MANIA

One-third of the Vikings' three-headed monster on offense, Sophia Meyers has recorded double-doubles in seven of the team's 16 Big Sky matches this season and was either a kill or a dig away in three other matches. Meyers leads the team with 12 double-doubles overall, as she ranks second on the team in both kills per set (3.12) and digs per set (2.85). Across all matches this season, Meyers has totaled at least 10+ kills in 18 of the team's 27 matches, while she's recorded 10+ digs in 17 of the 27 matches. And if two stat categories weren't enough for her, Meyers has also been a reliable scorer for the Vikings from the service line this season. She recorded a career-high five aces in the Vikings' win over the Hornets on Oct. 22, and now ranks fifth in the Big Sky with 0.35 aces per set. Meyers ranks in the top 10 of the Big Sky in three different categories. In addition to ranking fifth in aces per set, she also ranks seventh in kills per set (3.12) and eighth in points per set (3.58).
 

ELLIE SNOOK – ALL-TIME LEADER IN CAREER DIGS

Ellie Snook made short work of her chase for the career record in digs at Portland State. Just four matches into Big Sky play, Snook passed Kasimira Clark for the career lead during the fifth set of the Vikings' win over Northern Arizona on Oct. 1. Snook needed 29 digs to pass Clark for the record going into the match and, sure enough, she came through with a season-high 31 to claim the record. Since becoming the Vikings' career leader, Snook has continued to move up the career rankings within the Big Sky Conference. She became just the fourth player in conference history to record 2,000-career digs, joining Sacramento State's Kristin Lutes (2,355 digs from 2003-06), Idaho State's Haylie Keck (2,206 digs from 2016-19) and Montana State's Allyssa Rizzo (2,122 digs from 2016-19). She still could conceivably pass Rizzo this season, as she only needs 47 more digs to pass her for third in conference history. Snook has her name elsewhere in the Portland State record books, as well. She holds the career record for digs per set and owns the record by some margin. Snook's 5.11 digs-per-set average is well ahead of Clark's average of 4.27 digs per set, which ranks second all time. Snook has also moved up the career rankings for aces, a season after she set the single-season school records for aces (50) and aces per set (0.42). Snook ranks tied for third in Division I program history with 128 career aces. She will pass Sarah Sirianni (2003-06) for sole possession of third place with her next ace. Within this season, Snook leads the Big Sky and ranks 40th in the nation with 4.72 digs per set. She also ranks eighth in the conference with 0.34 aces per set.
 

WE'RE ALL MAD FOR MADI

Setter Madison Friebel, a newcomer from Butler, has made quite the splash in her short time with the Vikings. She's twice been named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week as she has led the Viking offense to some of the best statistical performances within the Big Sky Conference. With Friebel at the helm, the Vikings finished the Big Sky season ranked first in the conference in both kills per set (14.2) and assists per set (13.4). They also ranked second in the Big Sky in hitting percentage, having hit .247 during Big Sky play. Individually, Friebel ranks second in the conference with 11.4 assists per set against Big Sky opponents. She set a career high with 60 assists in the Vikings' five-set win over Sacramento State last Friday, while also leading the team to .286 hitting against the Hornets – the highest mark of any Big Sky opponent against Sacramento State this season. Friebel had two other 50-assist matches within Big Sky play, while she recorded 40+ assists in 10 of the team' 16 Big Sky matches. Her distribution also means that three different Vikings rank in the top 10 of the Big Sky for kills per set in conference matches between Parker Webb (3rd, 3.60 k/s), Makayla Lewis (4th, 3.58 k/s) and Sophia Meyers (10th, 3.07 k/s).
 

LOVE FOR THE MIDDLES

The connection between setter Madison Friebel and middle blockers Ashleigh Barto and Ashlyn Blotzer has been a key part of the Vikings' success in conference play. Barto ranks eighth in the Big Sky with a .320 hitting percentage in conference matches, while Blotzer has hit .296 in Big Sky play. Morgan Halady has also come in and given the Vikings a lift recently, as she has hit .286 in that role. The in-form numbers during conference play marked a sign of progress for Friebel and the team's middle blockers. Barto was hitting just .218 before the start of Big Sky play, while Blotzer was even lower down at .099. Both players have posted huge matches within Big Sky play, too. Barto recorded 12 kills on .647 hitting in the Vikings' five-set comeback against Eastern Washington on Sept. 24. Blotzer, meanwhile, set a career high by hitting .588 against Idaho on Nov. 10 while recording a season-high 12 kills in the match. Halady set her career highs for kills (3), blocks (5.0) and points (6.5) in the Vikings' match at Montana State last Saturday.
 

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS

It was a familiar top three in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll. The Vikings were picked to finish third, the same spot they finished last season when they placed a game behind co-regular-season champions Northern Colorado and Weber State. Northern Colorado, which went on to win the Big Sky tournament last season, topped the poll with 78 points after receiving first-place votes from six of the other nine teams in the conference. Weber State finished second with 70 points and two first-place votes, while the Vikings finished third with 66 points and one first-place vote.
 

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Nov. 18, 2022, Portland State 3, Sacramento State 2: The Vikings erased a 5-0 deficit at the start of the fifth set to record just their sixth win ever at Sacramento State's home gym. The Vikings hit .286 against the Hornets, the highest mark of any Big Sky opponent against Sacramento State this season.
Nov. 10, 2022, Portland State 3, Idaho 0: The Vikings hit .471 against the Vandals, their best mark in a match since they hit .542 against Weber State on Oct. 19, 2013. Parker Webb and Ashlyn Blotzer both set career highs for hitting percentage in the match, as they hit .750 and .588, respectively.
Nov. 5, 2022, Montana State 3, Portland State 2: Despite the team's loss, Ellie Snook became just the fourth player in Big Sky Conference history to reach the 2,000-dig milestone during the match. Snook joined Sacramento State's Kristin Lutes (2003-06), Idaho State's Haylie Keck (2016-19) and Montana State's Allyssa Rizzo (2016-19) as players who have hit the 2k milestone.
Oct. 27, 2022, Portland State 3, Northern Arizona 0: The Vikings recorded their seventh straight win with a 3-0 sweep of the Lumberjacks. The win tied the Vikings' longest winning streak since the team won 10 matches in a row in 2013.
Oct. 22, 2022, Portland State 3, Sacramento State 1: The Vikings beat the second-ranked Hornets to improve to 8-1 in Big Sky play, their best start to the conference season since 2012.
Oct. 15, 2022, Portland State 3, Weber State 0: The Vikings outhit the Wildcats .353-to-.186 while Makayla Lewis (16 kills), Sophia Meyers (15) and Parker Webb (12) all went into double figures. It was the Vikings' first win over the Wildcats in Ogden since 2015, as well as their first sweep in Ogden since 2012. It also completed the Vikings' first back-to-back road sweeps of Idaho State and Weber State since 2008.
Oct. 13, 2022, Portland State 3, Idaho State 0: The Vikings held Idaho State to .079 hitting, a season low both for a Viking opponent and for Idaho State. Four different Vikings recorded at least eight kills in the match, led by Ashlyn Blotzer who went into double figures for the first time with 11 kills on .529 hitting.
Oct. 8, 2022, Portland State 3, Montana 0: The Vikings hit a season-high .381 against the Grizzlies, while holding Montana to .118 hitting – the lowest mark for a Viking opponent this season. Parker Webb, Makayla Lewis and Sophia Meyers all finished in double figures for kills during the match while also hitting over .300.
Oct. 6, 2022, Portland State 3, Montana State 1: The Vikings moved into a tie for first in the Big Sky standings with a 3-1 win over Montana State. The win avenged a loss to the Bobcats last season that dropped them out of a tie for first and ultimately cost them a share of the Big Sky regular-season title.
Oct. 1, 2022, Portland State 3, Northern Arizona 2: The Vikings recorded their first win in Flagstaff since 2011 with a five-set win over the Lumberjacks. Ellie Snook broke the career record for digs during the fifth set of the match.
Sept. 24, 2022, Portland State 3, Eastern Washington 2: The Vikings recorded their first reverse sweep in a Big Sky road match since Nov. 6, 2010 while erasing a match point in the third set against the Eagles. The Vikings also hit over .300 for just the second time this season, as they outhit the Eagles .312-to-.176.
Sept. 22, 2022, Portland State 3, Weber State 0: The Vikings swept the two-time defending Big Sky regular-season champions in Weber State. They hit .239 against the Wildcats, which was the second-highest mark against the Wildcats this season at the time.
Sept. 17, 2022, Portland State 3, Seattle U 1: Parker Webb moved up to second in Division I program history in both career kills and career aces during the match. Sophia Meyers set a career high with 23 kills on a career-best .400 hitting percentage, while Webb set season highs for kills (18) and digs (11) while hitting .378.
Sept. 11, 2022, Portland State 3, Cal Poly 0: The Vikings set a season high for hitting percentage for the second straight match while also recording their second straight sweep. The Vikings hit .324 against the Mustangs while sixth-year senior Parker Webb set an individual season high with 15 kills on .619 hitting – only the second time she's hit over .600 while finishing with at least 12 kills in a match in her career.
Sept. 10, 2022, Portland State 3, North Texas 0: The Vikings recorded their first sweep of the season with a 3-0 win over North Texas. The Vikings hit a season-high .274 against the Mean Green while holding North Texas to .124 hitting themselves behind 10 blocks.
Sept. 2, 2022, Portland State 3, UTEP 2: The Vikings avenged a home loss to UTEP last season by beating the Miners at their home tournament, the Borderland Invitational. The victory gave the Vikings a win over a team that went 24-8 overall and advanced to the semifinals of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
Aug. 27, 2022, Portland State 3, Oregon State 1: The Vikings recorded their first win over Oregon State since 1990, as well as their first win over a Pac-12 opponent since 2017 by handling the Beavers at home. The Vikings had been just 5-43 all time against Pac-12 opponents since becoming a Division I program, but won their sixth match against the Beavers.