POCATELLO, Idaho — If there's one truth to conference play, it's that you've got to find a way to win when you're not playing your best.
 
The Portland State volleyball team got a reminder of that Thursday in their Big Sky opener at Idaho State. With the match tied at a set apiece and the Vikings hitting just .097, the team dug deep, finding a different gear to hit .360 or better in the third and fourth sets and complete a 3-1 win (25-22, 20-25, 25-18, 25-22).
 
The Vikings (8-4, 1-0 Big Sky) trailed by 10 early in the fourth set, but a huge comeback saw the Vikings win 18 of 22 points at one point to close out the Bengals (2-10, 0-1 Big Sky).
 
"We had to find a different way to win tonight, and we did just that," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said after the match. "Very proud of how we closed out in a very tough place to win."
 
To borrow a phrase from professional tennis coach Brad Gilbert, the Vikings won ugly.
 
The gutsy win came as the Vikings again had to lean on their depth this season. With four-year starting middle blocker Ashleigh Barto out for the match, the Vikings started freshman Naomi White alongside Lauryn Anderson. Then, with players struggling to find a rhythm in the first two sets, the Vikings found enough contributors to step up and carry them to the victory.
 
Gabby Hollins and Lauryn Anderson were the steady presences throughout Thursday's night's match. They were the only two Vikings reliably scoring over the first two sets, and they kept that momentum going while others started to find their groove over the latter sets.
 
Hollins finished with 14 kills on .367 hitting to go with 11 digs and five aces. Two of Hollins' five aces came during the Vikings' 10-0 run in the fourth set that flipped a 17-10 deficit into a 20-17 lead. Anderson, meanwhile, had her best offensive match of the season, posting a season-high 10 kills on .667 hitting while also contributing three blocks and two aces.
 
Additionally, Delaney Nicoll came off the bench to play the final three sets of the match and finished with an efficient seven kills on .636 hitting to go with three blocks.
 
"There is not a single player on our roster who has not gone in and contributed when it mattered," Seemann said.
 
To Seemann's point, Barto's absence against the Bengals means the Vikings have now had eight different players – half the team's 16-player roster – miss at least one match this season. That's a group that includes both of the Vikings' returning All-Big Sky first-team selections in Madison Friebel and Makyla Lewis, a four-year starter like Barto, and freshman libero Paige Stepaniuk, who was named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week following the opening week of the season.
 
And yet, the Vikings have still found a way to win, all season and especially Thursday against the Bengals.
 
Thursday, the Vikings may have counted themselves lucky to be even at a set apiece through two sets. Not only were the Vikings hitting just .097 at that point, but the Bengals were out-killing them 30-to-19. Sophia Meyers – the reigning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week for the Vikings after averaging 5.29 kills per set in two matches against Oregon State – had just three kills on negative-.160 hitting through the opening two sets.
 
But the Vikings steadied themselves early in the third set thanks to an 11-3 start to the set that included two kills for Meyers. Two aces for Hollins later pushed it to an 18-9 lead, and while the Bengals eventually got back within five at 21-16, the Vikings closed it out from there.
 
The beginning of the fourth set was almost the exact opposite. The Bengals ran out to a 14-4 lead, making it appear to everyone in Reed Gym that the teams were headed to a fifth set. However, an initial 6-1 run for the Vikings cut the deficit in half at 15-10. Hollins had two kills during the run, while Anderson and Kendra Duffey each had a solo block.
 
The Bengals answered with back-to-back points to go up 17-10, but the Vikings then rattled off 10 straight points on Hollins' serve. Anderson started the run with a kill, one of three she'd have during the run, while Hollins followed with back-to-back aces. Anderson and Nicoll then combined for a block to get the Vikings back within three at 17-14 and spark an ISU timeout.
 
The timeout didn't work as Meyers and Anderson traded off the next six kills for the Vikings to put the team up three at 20-17. After ISU finally snapped the run with a kill, Nicoll and Hollins tacked on two more points with back-to-back kills.
 
In the blink of an eye, the Vikings went from 14-4 down to leading 22-18.
 
The Bengals fought to get back in it, twice cutting the Vikings' lead to two, but a final kill from Hollins closed it out. Hollins, Anderson, Meyers and Nicoll all finished with four kills in the fourth set as the Vikings hit .361 with 16 kills in the frame.
 
Outside of the offense, the Vikings also tied their season high with nine blocks for the third straight match. Anderson, Nicoll, Duffey and White all finished with three blocks individually to lead the Vikings at the net.
 
The Vikings now turn to a rematch of last year's Big Sky championship match Saturday, as Northern Colorado comes to Viking Pavilion at 7 p.m. And while the Vikings may not want a repeat of Thursday night's statistical showing when they face the Bears, they'd definitely take a repeat of the fortitude they showed against the Bengals.
 
You need that in conference play, after all.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 40-26 all time against the Bengals with Thursday's win…The Vikings have won six in a row against the Bengals…The Vikings finished with three players in double figures for kills (Hollins, Meyers and Anderson) for just the second time this season…After not winning any match in which their opponent hit over .200 last season, the Vikings are now 5-1 when their opponent tops .200 after Idaho State hit .222 Thursday.
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