PORTLAND, Ore. — A Viking always gets its revenge.
 
A season ago, the Portland State volleyball team lost a four-setter on the road against Montana, dropping the first two sets, 26-24, after holding set points in both. Saturday night, the Vikings erased two set points for Montana to win a critical third set, 27-25, and carry on to a 3-1 victory (25-15, 23-25, 27-25, 25-13) at Viking Pavilion.
 
The steady play in the extended third set came two days after the Vikings erased four match points in the fourth set against Montana State en route to a five-set reverse sweep.
 
If the Vikings had lost either set – the third set against the Grizzlies, the fourth set against the Bobcats – they likely lose the match. They would have definitely lost the match in the case of the fourth set against the Bobcats. And yet, the Vikings won both and can now relish a weekend sweep of the Montana schools that raised them back above .500 in Big Sky play (5-4, 12-8 overall).
 
"Oddly enough, since we ran out of subs [in the third set], we put ourselves in a different situation and there's almost a lesson to be learned in that. They tried their best to expose Ella [Hartford] in the front row, but in doing so, it changed their game plan whether they wanted it to or not. And of course, we were able to make some plays," Portland State head volleyball coach Michael Seemann said of the close third set.
 
"I'm just proud of the team effort. It was a great weekend. A lot of real, serious moments that we had to fight through, and we came out on top."
 
Newcomer Lauryn Anderson, who wasn't there for last season's close loss to the Grizzlies, rose to the occasion late in the third set Saturday. With the Grizzlies leading 24-22, putting them a point away from taking a 2-1 lead in the match, Anderson erased both set points with kills from the middle.
 
After the Grizzlies erased a set point for the Vikings, Anderson responded with a kill and a combo block with setter Ella Hartford to close out the set. Three of Anderson's four kills in the set came in the Vikings' five points in the frame, while she also added three blocks in the set.
 
"She did the same thing in the fifth set Thursday [against Montana State], too," Seemann said of Anderson. "Yeah, she's clutch. And it was start-to-finish tonight. She started the match doing that, too, so that was awesome."
 
The Vikings used the momentum of the third-set finish to run away with the fourth. The Vikings led 9-1 before the Grizzlies could shake off their previous loss, and then stretched it to a 21-9 lead after an 11-3 stretch in the middle of the set.
 
The Vikings' record in close sets had been a hindrance to the team before this weekend. Coming into their matches against the Montana schools, the Vikings had lost six of their last eight sets when both teams scored more than 20 points. Against Montana State and Montana, however, the Vikings went 3-2 in those sets, including a 2-1 record in sets that went past 25 points.
 
The Vikings dominated the first set Saturday, winning 25-15 while outhitting the Grizzlies .290-to-.063. The Grizzlies controlled the latter half of the second set to level the match, however, and then ran out to a 17-11 lead in the third set.
 
The Vikings re-found their mojo from there, going on a 7-1 run to tie it at 18-all. Sophia Meyers recorded a kill and an ace during the first four points of the spurt for the Vikings, while Kendra Duffey followed with a kill and a block (with Anderson) over the final three points.
 
The Grizzlies edged ahead again after the Vikings tied it up, however, as they led 23-20. The Vikings got back within one behind a kill from Jasmine Powell and a Montana attack error. The Grizzlies answered with a kill to get to set point at 24-22.
 
But that's when Anderson took over, erasing the two set points with kills then finishing it with a kill and a block back-to-back.
 
Besides the team's play in close sets, the Vikings' weekend sweep of the Montana schools also featured resurgent play from the team's attack and block.
 
Offensively, the Vikings hit .245 over the final three sets of Thursday's reverse sweep of Montana State. They followed that with a .288 mark against the Grizzlies, their best mark since they hit a season-high .328 against Northern Colorado on Sept. 23.
 
The balance within the attack might be what pleased Seemann the most. The Vikings had five players finish with at least seven kills, the first time this season they've had that level of distribution.
 
"The serve receive was key to that. I thought we were in-system a lot," Seemann said of the team's offensive showing. "I thought the passers did a good job of staying competent. They did a good job of studying servers and understanding what their strengths were.
 
"Also, the decision-making of the setters was key, too. The distribution was there tonight."
 
Meyers led the Vikings with 17 kills on .259 hitting while adding 12 digs and five aces, one off her career high. Anderson and Powell followed with nine kills each while both hitting over .400 (Anderson at .471, Powell at .412). Ashleigh Barto also hit over .400 with seven kills on .462 hitting. Duffey added eight kills on .316 hitting and recorded a kill on match point, just as she did Thursday against Montana State.
 
Meyers' 17 kills and 12 digs gave the junior her fourth straight double-double and 13th of the season. Meyers had 21 kills on .327 hitting and 20 digs in Thursday's reverse sweep of Montana State. That was Meyers' first 20-20 match of her career, and she added four aces against the Bobcats, giving her a total of nine against the Grizzlies and Bobcats.
 
"She did it in all parts of the game [tonight], which is key," Seemann said of Meyers. "When she's on as an attacker, she's a little more confident in all the other skills, and that helps us a lot."
 
Barto and Anderson had solid weekends from the middle, too, recording 20 and 16 total kills, respectively, while hitting .318 and .500 against the Montana schools.
 
They also contributed to the Vikings' best blocking weekend of the season. After setting a new season high with 13.0 blocks against Montana State Thursday – 12.0 over the final three sets – the Vikings topped that with 15.0 Saturday against the Grizzlies.
 
Anderson set a new career high with eight blocks, while she averaged 1.44 blocks per set across both matches this weekend. Barto added six blocks while averaging 1.33 blocks per set for the weekend. Duffey, meanwhile, set a new career high with six blocks from the right-side position.
 
Setters Hartford and Madison Friebel contributed to the solid offensive distribution all weekend. Friebel set a season high with 45 assists Thursday while recording her fifth double-double of the season. Saturday, Hartford recorded the lion share of the assists with 25 helpers to go with six digs. Friebel finished with 17 assists and seven digs against the Grizzlies.
 
The weekend sweep of the Montana schools now gives the Vikings some momentum as they head back out on the road next weekend. The Vikings play at Northern Arizona Thursday and at Northern Colorado Saturday before returning home the following weekend.
 
Solid play in close sets becomes all the more important on the road. But if the Vikings continue to play like they did late in the third set Saturday, then they have to like their chances.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 57-19 all time against the Grizzlies with Saturday's win…Meyers' 13th double-double gives her 25 in her Portland State career, moving her one away from entering the all-time top 10 at PSU…The Vikings averaged 3.11 blocks per set as a team against the Montana schools.
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