FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The Portland State volleyball team went 11 years without a victory at Northern Arizona before winning a five-setter last season. Thursday night, the Vikings added a second straight victory at Rolle Activity Center, keeping it rolling – yes, pun intended – with a 3-1 (25-16, 25-27, 25-22, 25-18) win over the Lumberjacks.
The Vikings (13-8, 6-4 Big Sky) have now won three in a row as Thursday's win followed a sweep of the Montana schools at home last weekend.
The offense has been humming for the Vikings during their three-match winning streak. Since the end of the second set against Montana State on Oct. 19, the Vikings are hitting .286 while averaging 14.1 kills per set.
Thursday night, the Vikings hit .319 against the Lumberjacks (5-15, 2-7 Big Sky) for their second-best hitting percentage this season. Four different Vikings finished with 10+ kills in the match, the first time this season the Vikings have had that level of distribution.
"This is a tough place to play, and I'm proud of the way we gutted it out," Portland State head coach
Michael Seemann said after the match. "The middles went off. We thought we had a matchup in our favor in that regard. Steady passing allowed our setters to distribute tonight."
The team's middle blockers –
Ashleigh Barto and
Lauryn Anderson – started the match especially hot. They combined for eight kills in the opening set when only one of their nine combined attacks didn't find the floor. Midway through the second set, they had combined for 11 of the team's first 22 kills in the match, while both were still hitting .833 or better at that point.
Still, the Vikings found themselves in a match after the Lumberjacks took the second set, 27-25. Neither team could seemingly shake the other in the middle two sets. The largest lead for either team in the second set was only two points, while three points was the largest lead in the third set.
NAU was keeping pace with the Vikings offensively for the most part, which kept the match close. Even as the Vikings took a 2-1 lead after the third set, the Lumberjacks were still hitting .260 as a team at that point.
The Viking defense picked it up in the fourth set, however, holding the Lumberjacks to just .176 hitting behind four blocks in the frame. That allowed the Vikings to finally earn some separation and close out the match.
The Vikings separated themselves in the first set, winning 17 of the final 23 points after NAU led 10-8. Barto paced the Vikings with five kills on six swings in the opening frame. Four different Vikings had at least three kills in the first as PSU totaled 18 kills on .417 hitting.
The Vikings dipped down to .225 in the second set, but then jumped back above .300 for the final two sets.
Reigning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week
Sophia Meyers asserted herself at that point in the match. She erased two set points with kills in the second set, which seemed to get her going even as the Vikings dropped the set. Meyers followed with five kills on .308 hitting in the third set, then posted another five kills – this time on .556 hitting – in the fourth.
Even still, it wasn't until a 5-0 run broke an 8-all tie in the fourth set that the Vikings finally had some breathing room. The 13-8 lead was the Vikings' first lead of more than three points since the opening set.
Kate Hansen helped serve the Vikings to the advantage, as she had two aces during the 5-0 run.
NAU got back within a point at 14-13 with their own burst of four straight points, but the Vikings immediately responded with three straight, two of which came on a kill and block from Anderson.
Anderson had another kill to kickstart a 4-1 run that saw the Vikings stretch their lead to six at 22-16. Meyers recorded her final two kills of the match during that stretch, while
Gabby Hollins added another. Freshman
Paige Stepaniuk then sealed the match for the Vikings a few points later with an ace on match point.
Meyers recorded her fifth straight double-double with 16 kills on .271 hitting to go with a team-high 13 digs. Barto and Anderson followed with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, from the middle while hitting .556 and .562. Barto added six blocks to her 11 kills, while Anderson finished with three blocks and three aces.
Jasmine Powell was the fourth Viking in double figures as she set a season high with 10 kills on .471 hitting. Hollins chipped in seven kills.
Kendra Duffey finished with three kills and five blocks on the right side opposite Powell.
Saturday's match against Northern Colorado offers another chance for the Vikings to reverse some poor recent history at a road venue. While the Vikings have seemed to crack their troubles at NAU with back-to-back road wins over the Lumberjacks, they haven't beaten Saturday's opponent, Northern Colorado, in its home gym since 2013.
A balanced attack like the Vikings had Thursday could end that drought, however. And a win Saturday would give the Vikings their first road sweep of the season.
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 25-31 all time against the Lumberjacks with Thursday's win…Meyer's fifth straight double-double gave her 26 in her Portland State career, moving her into a tie for ninth all time…The Vikings recorded double-digit blocks for their third straight match, as they out-blocked the Lumberjacks 11.0-to-6.0.
