BOZEMAN, Mont. — Perhaps the Portland State volleyball team should play all its road matches on the other side of the continental divide. They're 1-0 on the eastern side of the continent after Thursday, at least, after completing a comeback, five-set win (25-22, 17-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-13) over Montana State at Shroyer Gym.
 
The win snapped a five-match road losing streak for the Vikings (7-17, 6-7 Big Sky), and kept them with a two-win cushion over the bottom two teams in the Big Sky standings as they look to secure a Big Sky tournament berth. The Vikings jumped the Bobcats (8-17, 6-8 Big Sky) for sixth in the Big Sky standings with the win, and can now clinch a spot at the tournament with a victory over Montana Saturday.
 
"We started the match very tense on both sides of the ball. As we settled down, our ball handling got more precise, which allowed for better distribution," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said of his team's comeback. "As the match went on, especially in the fourth and fifth sets, we did a better job of defending. Everybody had key moments in those sets, and it feels good to get a road win.
 
The Vikings had struggled on the road in recent matches. Whereas they were 4-2 in Big Sky matches at home entering Thursday night, they were just 1-5 on the road. That bore out in the Vikings' statistics which went from 12.3 kills per set on .195 hitting at home, to 11.5 kills per set on .160 hitting on the road. What's more, opponents increased their hitting percentage from .201 in PSU home matches to .282 in PSU road matches.
 
But the Vikings reversed that trend Thursday, outhitting the Bobcats .248-to-.203 while out-killing them (63-to-61), out-digging them (69-to-63) and out-blocking them (13.0-to-8.0) in the match.
 
Most importantly, the Vikings found their distribution again. Switching to a 5-1 midway through the match, setter Ella Hartford displayed picture-perfect balance as she led five different Vikings into double figures for kills. It's the second time this season the Vikings have had five players record at least 10+ kills in a match – the first time coming against Montana on Sept. 28 – after the Vikings hadn't done so since 2007.
 
The key change in the match came when Hartford started to find Devon DeNecochea on the right side. Carisa Barron and Makayla Lewis had already been producing on the left side, as were middle blockers Naomi White and Reese Biesemeyer. But without a threat from the right, the court hadn't opened up as much for the Vikings.
 
That changed in the fourth set when -- with the Vikings down 2-1 in the match -- DeNecochea went off for six kills on only eight swings in the frame. The Vikings hit .467 as a team in the fourth set as they leveled the match at two sets apiece.
 
DeNecochea had two kills and a block during a key 6-1 run that stretched the Vikings' lead to 20-14 in the fourth set.
 
The Vikings then never trailed in the fifth set. It was still tied at 7-7, when a 3-0 PSU run that featured a kill and an ace from Lewis to go with a kill from Barron gave the Vikings the lead for good.
 
Things got nervy for the Vikings after Barron gave them match point at 14-10. The Bobcats saved the first three match points to get back within one at 14-13. But the Viking defense induced a Montana State attack error to close out the match.
 
Barron led the Vikings with 18 kills on .164 hitting to go with 10 digs and two blocks. It's the fifth double-double of the season for Barron, all but one of which have come within Big Sky play.
 
Lewis recorded her own double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs to go with three blocks and an ace. Lewis now has 32 double-doubles in her Portland State career, giving her sole possession of sixth place all-time in the PSU record book.
 
White and Biesemeyer both finished with 11 kills from the middle. White hit .450 on her 11 kills while also leading the Vikings with six blocks in the match. Biesemeyer hit .500 on her 11 kills while adding five blocks and an ace.
 
DeNecochea was the revelation for the Vikings as she tied her career high with 10 kills on .333 hitting while adding five digs, four blocks and an ace.
 
Hartford finished with 56 assists while narrowly missing a double-double with nine digs. She added three blocks and two aces for good measure.
 
Thursday night's win marked the Vikings' first five-set road win within Big Sky play since they beat Sacramento State in five sets on the road on Nov. 18, 2022. That match launched the Vikings into a run to the Big Sky championship match the next week. The Vikings will hope Thursday's comeback win springs them forward as well, as they look to extend their season at the conference tournament.
 
A win Saturday gets them there. And now that the Vikings have solved their road issues, it's there for the taking for the Vikings.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 49-27-1 all-time against the Bobcats with Thursday's win…They hadn't won in Bozeman since 2021…The Vikings hadn't erased a 2-1 deficit on the road since they reverse swept Eastern Washington on the road on Sept. 24, 2022…Four of the Vikings' five aces in Thursday's match came over the final two sets…The Vikings' 13.0 blocks marked a new conference season high.
  Read Full Article