RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Petition: Move all Thursday Big Sky Conference volleyball matches up to 2 p.m. PT. You'd have one signature at least as the Portland State volleyball team won its second straight match within that time slot, coming back from a set down to beat New Mexico, 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-22), at The Joust Tournament.
 
The Vikings (2-5) haven't just won at 2 p.m. on Thursdays. They've beaten two quality teams each time. A week ago, the Vikings beat a Long Beach State team that was just three days removed from a close, five-set loss to then-No. 19 UCLA. This Thursday, the Vikings handed the Lobos (6-1) their first loss of the season.
 
The Lobos had been undefeated thanks in part to their standout serving. They came into the match leading the Mountain West Conference and ranked 21st nationally with 2.13 aces per set. But the Vikings held the Lobos to just four aces Thursday while recording five of their own.
 
"We prepared well for this opponent, and we did a great job of executing the plan. We knew that they were a tough serving team and the challenge was to not allow aces, and for the most part we accomplished that. We really were in the right headspace for this match," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said after the match.
 
The good first contact fueled the best kill production the Vikings have recorded in a match this season. They out-killed the Lobos 60-to-52, with the 15.0 kills per set representing a season high. Three Vikings went into double figures for kills between Alivia Eikenberg (16 kills), Tyra Schaub (13) and Sydney Stenson (11), with both Schaub and Stenson setting new career highs.
 
Three other Vikings recorded at least six kills between Willow Watson (eight kills), Naomi White (six) and Reese Biesemeyer (six). Biesemeyer's six kills represented a new season high and came on .750 hitting.
 
"Our takeaway is that we can make errors, and not everyone has to be completely on for us to beat a good team," Seemann said. "We moved Sydney to the opposite for her blocking on that pin and she contributed offensively as well. Reese's experience paid off today as she ended the third set with a kill. Couldn't be prouder of the team."
 
Even still, the Vikings found themselves staring up from an 8-2 deficit in the second set, after dropping the opening frame 25-20. The Vikings entered Thursday 0-5 in matches where they dropped the opening set, even as they had come back to win the second set three other times.
 
But the Vikings immediately got back in the second set with a 5-0 run and then slowly pushed ahead from there. The Vikings won six of seven points midway through the set to push ahead 18-15. White, who was held to just one kill on three attempts in the first set, had two kills in the run.
 
The Lobos came back to tie it at 22-all, but Eikenberg responded with a kill and then an ace out of a timeout before a UNM attack error closed it out for the Vikings.
 
Biesemeyer, who didn't play in the first set before starting the last three, then shined for the Vikings in the third set. The sophomore middle blocker went a perfect 5-for-5, recording kills on each one of her swings. Eikenberg and Stenson added five and four kills, respectively, as the Vikings recorded 17 as a team.
 
Biesemeyer and Stenson combined for four points in a 6-0 PSU run that saw the Vikings take an 18-11 lead midway through the third set. The pair combined for two blocks while each recording a kill in the run.
 
The Vikings had to fend off a late charge from the Lobos that saw the Vikings' advantage cut to one at 24-23. Biesemeyer came up with a clutch kill to close out the set, however, and give the Vikings a 2-1 lead.
 
White helped the Vikings push ahead in the fourth set. She contributed to the first three points of a 4-0 run behind a kill, combo and solo block that gave the Vikings the lead for good at 13-10. The Lobos got back within one three times late in the set, but the Vikings answered each time with kills from Watson, that made it 22-20, Eikenberg, that made it 23-21, and Biesemeyer, that made it 24-22.
 
Defensively, the Vikings held a New Mexico offense that came into the match ranked second in the Mountain West in kills (13.3) and assists (12.5) per set – as well as third in hitting percentage (.257) – to below their averages in all three categories.
 
The Vikings recorded 12.0 blocks in the match – one off their season high – with five different players contributing at least two blocks. White led the way with seven blocks (three solo), with Watson and Biesemeyer recording five and four blocks, respectively.
 
Libero Paige Stepaniuk and setter Ava Blascziek tied for the team high with 14 digs each. Blascziek set or tied career highs for assists (28), digs (14) and aces (3), while the junior transfer recorded her second double-double out of four matches this season. Eikenberg and Schaub gave the Vikings two more double-doubles, adding 10 and 11 digs, respectively, to their double-digit kill totals. Schaub's double-double marked the first of her collegiate career.
 
The Vikings get a second chance at California Baptist in the next match Friday at 6 p.m. The Lancers beat the Vikings in three sets last Saturday at the Santa Clara Mission Classic.
 
But play the way the Vikings do at 2 p.m. each Thursday, and it could be a different story.
 
Match Notes:

• The Vikings improved to 2-4 all-time against New Mexico with the win Thursday, which was their first over the Lobos since 1983.
• The Lobos outhit the Vikings .203-to-.199 Thursday, making it the first time the Vikings had been outhit in a win since Nov. 10, 2023, against Sacramento State.
• Setter Allison Panter narrowly missed her first double-double of the season, finishing with 22 assists and nine digs.

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