PORTLAND, Ore. — How many teams would sweep back-to-back teams without their two returning all-conference first-team players?
Not many.
And yet, that's exactly what the Portland State volleyball team did at the Hotel Vance Rose City Showdown. Without All-Big Sky first-team selection
Madison Friebel the entire weekend, and without two-time first-team selection
Makayla Lewis since Friday, the Vikings swept two quality teams in Cal State Fullerton and San Diego State in back-to-back matches.
"We talked about competing for and against each other in our practice gym, and that is what's paying off for us early in the season. Because everybody's working, everybody's competing. No matter who gets to start, the people who are standing on the bench are ready to contribute, and that's what you saw today," Portland State head coach
Michael Seemann said of his team after the match.
A near-record 16 aces led the Vikings to their sweep of the Titans Saturday, while Sunday's sweep of San Diego State (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) saw the Vikings outhit (.311-to-.221), out-block (6.0-to-.5.0) and out-ace (7-to-5) the Aztecs.
Gabby Hollins put together her best individual match as a Viking to lead the team. Hollins, who subbed on for Lewis when she went down with her injury Friday, recorded a match-high 17 kills on a career-best .452 hitting percentage while also contributing seven digs and two aces.
Hollins played her best in the big moments. She had three straight kills after the first set was locked at 16-all, then recorded another kill after the Aztecs came back to tie at 19-all. She'd finish with nine of the Vikings' 14 kills in the first set, while hitting .412 in the frame. The Vikings then had a crucial 5-0 run on her serve late in the second set that saw them go up 23-18. Both of Hollins' aces in the match came during that run, as she put the Vikings two points from a 2-0 lead.
Hollins followed up with five kills on only six swings in the third set, when she hit .833. Her final kill of the day gave the Vikings match point at 24-19, and an Aztec attack error on the next point would end it after that.
"That was there last year, too, it's just that Mak and Sophia [Meyers] held down that spot," Seemann said of Hollins' contributions so far this season. "So much for Gabby, it's a matter of confidence. I think she got more confident with every single pass, every single swing. Every time she touched the ball, I felt like she got more and more confident.
"Couldn't be more proud of her to not only fill that role, but match it or whatever you want to call it. She thrived in there."
Freshman libero
Paige Stepaniuk also earned praise from Seemann for her play, both in Sunday's match and for the entire weekend. Stepaniuk led all players with 19 digs Sunday, as she made athletic plays across the court to pick balls off the floor. Nine of Stepaniuk's 19 digs came in the first set, while she and the Viking defense held the Aztecs to just .097 hitting in the close-out third set.
"She did some things that were outside of her parameters in terms of what she's responsible for. That's just part of what good liberos do. They'll take pressure off other defenders, especially our left fronts," Seemann said of Stepaniuk.
"She made some scrap plays that were incredible, but she also did just a lot of the dirty work and she did a really good job of that."
The most encouraging for Seemann and the Viking coaches was how Hollins, Stepaniuk and the other new Vikings handled the pressure points. The Aztecs led early in all three sets, but decisive runs saw the Vikings push ahead every time.
As much as Hollins' serve was crucial for the Vikings late in the sets,
Ella Hartford had a number of runs on her serve in the middle of the sets that were just as critical. In the first set, the Aztecs led 14-10 before a 5-0 run on Hartford's serve saw the Vikings take back the lead. In the second set, the Aztecs led 10-8 before a 7-0 Viking run, again on Hartford's serve, put the Vikings up 15-10. The Aztecs then led 11-8 early in the third set before the Vikings won six of the next seven points between Hartford's serve and
Sophia Meyers'.
The Vikings' depth of servers was a part of both sweeps this weekend. Five different Vikings contributed to the team's seven aces Sunday, a day after the Vikings recorded 16 aces in their three-set sweep of Cal State Fullerton. Three different players recorded at least three aces in Saturday's match, led by Meyers who had the most aces (6) by a Viking since 2014. Hollins and Hartford, meanwhile, led the Vikings against the Aztecs, recording two aces each.
"This is something we're going to continue to emphasize and something we're going to lean on," Seemann said of the team's serving. "That's a good passing team [San Diego State]. They were in-system a lot, but I thought we took advantage of the times we did get them off the net and forced a one-hitter situation."
Individually, Meyers finished a kill and a dig away from a double-double with nine kills and nine digs to go with an ace and a solo block.
Jasmine Powell, starting for the first time this season, followed with six kills while leading the team with three blocks.
Hartford and fellow setter
VaiLin Tagaloa finished with 19 and 14 assists, respectively, while orchestrating the offense.
The Vikings hit the road for a tournament in California next weekend. Cal and Saint Mary's will split hosting duties, with the Vikings playing at Cal Friday and at Saint Mary's Saturday. The Vikings open the tournament against Southern Utah at 11 a.m. Friday.
Match Notes: Sunday's win over the Aztecs marked the Vikings' first-ever win over San Diego State…The Vikings had been 0-4 against the Aztecs before Sunday, with their most recent meeting coming in 2017…Stepaniuk and middle blocker
Lauryn Anderson were named to the Hotel Vance Rose City Showdown all-tournament team after the match.
