FARMINGTON, Utah — Paige Stepaniuk earned her third Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honor of the season Monday after leading the Portland State volleyball team to a weekend split with Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.
 
Stepaniuk and the Viking defense played a key role in the Vikings' 3-1 win over Northern Colorado Thursday. She and the defense held Northern Colorado to .151 hitting in the win, the Bears' lowest hitting percentage since Montana held them to .103 hitting on Oct. 2. Stepaniuk led the Vikings with 18 digs to go with six assists.
 
Stepaniuk followed up with a near-double-double Saturday against Northern Arizona, finishing with 26 digs and nine assists. Stepaniuk's 26 digs came as part of a season-high 97 the Vikings had as a team. That was the most by the Vikings in a match since they had 105 against Idaho State on Oct. 12, 2019.  
 
Stepaniuk also earned Big Sky Defensive Player of the Weeks on Sept. 15 after the Vikings' 3-0 weekend at The Joust Tournament. Her second honor came on Sept. 29 after the Vikings' 2-0 start to Big Sky play.
 
She and the Vikings will close out their regular season with three straight matches on the road. The first of those three comes Friday, when the Vikings play at Sacramento State at 7 p.m.