PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State volleyball team proved its depth Saturday, playing all 16 players who were dressed in a 3-2 (25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17, 13-15) exhibition win over Central Washington at Viking Pavilion.
 
The deep rotation fits in with head coach Michael Seemann's theme for the Vikings' entire 2022 season, which is to build not only the best but also the second-best team in the Big Sky Conference.
 
"Just feel for the hitter or feel for a passer next to you – how aggressive they are, what their range is. With that many moving pieces, that's what suffers a little bit. That continuity and that trust factor," Seemann said of working through multiple looks during the exhibition.
 
"I think that's something that we just have to continue to build. It's going to take longer to build because of the moving pieces, but once we get it, hopefully we have a machine where you can just change some parts and it continues to move forward."
 
The eye towards development meant that Makayla Lewis – an All-Big Sky first-teamer and the conference's Top Newcomer a year ago – didn't play after dominating the first three sets with 13 kills on .281 hitting and 11 digs. Parker Webb, another All-Big Sky first-teamer, also didn't play in the fifth set, which the teams played anyways despite the Vikings going up 3-1 in the match after the fourth.
 
Their teammates proved capable in their stead, however, as marks of depth were across the stat sheet for the Vikings. Five different players recorded at least seven kills in the match, including two newcomers in Sophia Meyers and Danica Wulf. Meyers and Wulf recorded eight and seven kills, respectively, despite both players playing in only two sets in the match. Lewis led all players in the match with 13 kills, while Webb and Ashleigh Barto added 10 and seven, respectively.
 
The Vikings also saw a number of players affect play at the net, as the team out-blocked Central Washington 15-6. The 15 blocks were one off the Vikings' season high from last season, and all 15 came in the final four sets of the match. Individually, three different players recorded five blocks in the match between Barto and fellow middle blockers Ashlyn Blotzer and Morgan Haladay. Besides them, Webb added four blocks, while Kendra Duffey and Jasmine Powell chipped in three each.
 
"We're just trying to figure out how people compete," Seemann said. "That's the funny thing, there are five people we have never seen compete before in our uniform. So, it was really encouraging to see those players play."
 
Saturday's exhibition afforded situational work for the newcomers, as well, including in several sticky situations. After the Vikings controlled much of the first two sets – thanks in part to 11 kills from Lewis and six kills on .500 hitting from Webb – the team found itself trailing big in the third set. The Wildcats led 19-11 late in the set when the Vikings went on an extended 12-4 run to level it again at 23-all. Defense helped lead the team back in it as the Vikings recorded two blocks and forced four other attack errors in the comeback.
 
The Wildcats regrouped to win the final two points and take the set, 25-23, but the run gave the team momentum heading into the fourth, which they'd win comfortably again, 25-17.
 
"Going from set three to four after that big comeback, it almost felt like we won, if that makes sense. No one was worried. I was confident we were going to climb back into that set [the third]. Obviously, I would have liked to see us win that, too, but this is our first match," Seemann said of the comeback in the third.
 
Meyers and Wulf led the way with four kills each in the fourth set. Wulf hadn't played to that point, but was a revelation off the bench, hitting .444 in the set and adding two blocks. It was a strong set in general for the Vikings' newcomers as Blotzer added two kills on .667 hitting to go with a block, while setters Ella Hartford and Madison Friebel recorded eight and five assists, respectively, while leading the team to 15 kills on .268 hitting.
 
"One of the really pleasant surprises tonight was Dani [Wulf] and her production. In practice, she hasn't done that, but she came out and did that [Laughs]. But I thought all of the newcomers did great," Seemann said of Wulf and the newcomers.
 
Kill production was strong throughout the match for the Vikings, especially in the sets the Vikings won. The team recorded at least 15 kills in all three sets they won and hit .262 or better in all three. The Vikings were at their efficient best in the first set when they tallied 17 kills on .353 hitting. Lewis recorded seven kills on .417 hitting alone in the first set, while also adding four digs and an ace.
 
Defensively, the Vikings held the Wildcats to only .056 hitting, while limiting the Wildcats to single-digit kills in four of the five sets.
 
Saturday's exhibition was all good experience for the Vikings' official season opener, which comes next weekend as the team hosts a stacked field for the Hotel Vance Rose City Showdown, Aug. 26-28, at Viking Pavilion. In-state Pac-12 programs Oregon and Oregon State will both come to the tournament, as well as five-time national champion Long Beach State.
 
The Vikings open the Hotel Vance Rose City Showdown against Long Beach State next Friday, Aug. 26, at 6 p.m.
 
Match Notes: Both teams agreed to play five sets regardless of the outcome of the previous sets in the match…Hartford, Friebel and fellow setter Teniyah Leuluai all recorded double-digit assists, as they finished with 23, 20 and 11, respectively…Hartford and Ellie Snook each had two aces in the match, while the Vikings recorded eight aces as a team.