CHENEY, Wash. — The Portland State volleyball team came back from the grave Saturday night at Reese Court. Down two sets with a match point against them at 24-23 in the third, the Vikings completed a reverse sweep to beat Eastern Washington, 3-2 (20-25, 20-25, 26-24, 25-15, 15-7). It's the first time the Vikings have come back from an 0-2 deficit in a Big Sky road match since Nov. 6, 2010.
 
Coincidentally, that match was also against the Eagles, making Saturday night a sister to that win, albeit 12 years apart.
 
"Gut check out of the third set. We knew we wanted to push into a fourth, and once we had the opportunity, we took off," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said of the comeback.
 
The key change in the match came on the serve. Eastern Washington (5-9, 0-2) had nine aces combined between the first two sets, but then only had one for the rest of the match, and none in the fourth or fifth sets. The better passing made a noticeable difference for the Vikings (7-6, 2-0), as they outhit the Eagles .357-to-.114 over the final three sets.
 
Even still, the Vikings looked to be in trouble mid-way through the third set when Eastern Washington went on a 9-0 run to take a 16-11 lead. The Vikings got back within one with a 6-2 run, then tied the set again at 19-all a few points later. Still, the Eagles edged ahead at 24-23, earning a match point with a kill from Alyssa Radke.
 
Maturity helped the Vikings stay focused in that moment. Sure enough, it was Parker Webb – the Vikings' sixth-year senior and former All-Big Sky first-teamer – that the team went to out of a timeout. Webb got a kill to erase the match point, then aced the Eagles to give the Vikings set point at 25-24. When an attack from the Eagles' Katie Fleck went for an error, the Vikings suddenly found themselves with new life entering the fourth set.
 
The momentum swing at the end of the third was noticeable for the rest of the match. The Vikings rolled in the fourth set, hitting .433 with 15 kills in the frame. They led 7-2 early in the set and stretched it to a 13-5 advantage a few points later. The Eagles didn't get closer than six points the rest of the way, as the team cruised behind a resurgent offense. Webb, Sophia Meyers and Ashleigh Barto all had four kills in the fourth set, while Makayla Lewis added three.
 
A 5-1 start to the fifth set helped the Vikings stay confident. The Vikings only allowed the Eagles to score back-to-back points once in the fifth set, and they immediately responded to that mini 2-0 run with four straight points to earn match point at 14-6. Fittingly, it was Ashlyn Blotzer – a transfer from Eastern Washington where she was a two-time All-Big Sky second-teamer – that closed out the match with a kill.
 
Blotzer and fellow middle blocker Barto had their most productive night of the season to date. Both players set season highs for kills. Barto finished with 12 kills on a career-best .647 hitting, while Blotzer added six kills on .333 hitting.
 
"We know that we need to get better distribution offensively, and that means more attempts for the middles. Tonight, we were able to find them more often," Seemann said of Barto and Blozter's production Saturday.
 
The production out of the middles helped free up the Vikings' outside hitters, who saw their numbers rise over the final three sets of the match. Meyers recorded 10 of her match-high 18 kills over the final three sets when she hit .389. Webb recorded nine of her 14 kills over the final three sets when she hit .571.
 
Barto had the best stat line of anyone over the final three sets. The junior middle blocker had eight attempts after the second set, and she recorded eight kills on those eight attempts for a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage.
 
The defense saw a similar turnaround. The Eagles hit .258 through the first three sets, but then were held to .069 in the fourth and negative-.050 in the fifth.
 
It was still a very different match for the Viking defense than Thursday night's win over Weber State. On Thursday, the Vikings recorded 69 digs, 22 more than any of their other three-set matches this season. Saturday, the Vikings finished with only 51 digs, 18 fewer than Thursday, and that was over five sets.
 
The Eagles hit away from libero Ellie Snook, as the Vikings' two-time Big Sky Libero of the Year was held to 14 digs. If the Vikings had lost in three sets, Snook would have been held to a career-low five digs. That made for a stark contrast from Thursday night's match, when Snook set a three-set career high with 26 digs against Weber State.
 
Meyers led the Vikings with 16 digs to go with her 18 kills, giving her a team-leading sixth double-double of the season, as well as her second 15-15 match. Webb had her third straight double-double, as she added 10 digs to her 14 kills. Webb also hit .500 against the Eagles.
 
The Vikings continue on the road next weekend, as they travel for matches at Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona. The Vikings open the weekend at Northern Colorado Thursday at 5 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. MT.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 34-29 all time against the Eagles with Saturday's win…The Vikings are 2-0 at the start of Big Sky play for the first time since 2017…Snook had three aces in Saturday's match, moving her past Nique Fradella (2006-09) for fourth in Division I program history…Webb broke the Division I program record for sets played Saturday, as she played in the 468th set of her career, pushing her past PSU Hall of Famer Garyn Schlatter (465 sets played).