MOSCOW, Idaho — Now, that's more like it.
 
The Portland State volleyball team returned to form Saturday, beating Idaho 3-0 (25-11, 25-22, 25-19) at Memorial Gym to snap a mini-two match losing streak.
 
The Vikings (10-6, 3-2 Big Sky) bounced back behind a complete performance from all areas of the court. They outhit the Vandals .267-to-.097, out-killed them 39-to-28, out-blocked them 9.0-to-4.0, and out-aced them 9-to-4.
 
The Vikings had struggled with their passing in their two recent losses to Sacramento State and Eastern Washington. That led to a pair of sub-.150 hitting performances in which the Vikings relied heavily on their pin hitters.
 
Saturday, it was a different story. For one, the Vikings held the Vandals (1-17, 0-6 Big Sky) to just four aces after giving up 15 to the Eagles Thursday. Secondly, the Vikings balanced their attack with five different players recording at least six kills in the match. Out of those, Jasmine Powell and Gabby Hollins led the Vikings with eight kills each. Sophia Meyers followed with seven, while Ashleigh Barto and Delaney Nicoll added six each on .417 and .500 hitting, respectively. Lauryn Anderson was effective, too, as she finished with four kills on .444 hitting.
 
Setters Madison Friebel and Ella Hartford led the event distribution. They split the Vikings' 101 attacks across all six attackers. Five of the Vikings' six attackers recorded at least 10 attacks while no one had more than 30.
 
The Vikings initially separated from the Vandals with a 4-0 run in the first set that gave them an 11-5 lead. Meyers had two kills during the run, while Friebel had one of the five aces the Vikings recorded in the opening set.
 
Anderson then served the Vikings to a 7-0 run that put them in firm control, up 20-7. The middle blocker had two aces during the run, while Hollins added two kills.
 
Both teams went on long runs in the second set. The Vikings withstood a 9-0 Idaho run in the middle of the set that came immediately after the Vikings had won nine of the previous 10 points. The Vandals led 18-13 after their 9-0 run, but then saw the Vikings get back within one at 19-18. Back-to-back points pushed the Vandals ahead by three, but the Vikings secured the final momentum swing as they closed the set on a 6-0 run.
 
Hartford served out the set for the Vikings, as she had two of her match-high three aces during the closing 6-0 run. Barto also came up big as she recorded two combo blocks and a kill for three of the Vikings' six points during the stretch.
 
Meyers asserted herself during a 6-1 burst for the Vikings that gave them control early in the third set. Meyers had back-to-back solo blocks on a pair of 1v1 plays at the net, then added a kill three points later as the Vikings went up 12-6.
 
Meyers added two more kills after the Vandals had gotten back within three at 17-14, as the Vikings closed out the sweep.
 
The road sweep closes a stretch in which the Vikings played four of their first five Big Sky matches away from home. They split those four conference road matches, beating Idaho State and Idaho while losing at Sacramento State and Eastern Washington.
 
The Vikings now return home where they've won five in a row and are 5-1 on the season. They host Idaho State and Weber State at Viking Pavilion next week, then have Montana State and Montana coming in the following week.
 
Keep winning at home, and the Vikings will be right back in the Big Sky race when they hit the road again at the end of the month.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 20-9 all time against the Vandals with Saturday's win…The Vikings have won three in a row against the Vandals, all sweeps…Hartford (3), Anderson (2) and Kate Hansen (2) all had multiple aces for the Vikings against the Vandals…Barto led the Vikings with four blocks, while six different players recorded at least two.
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