RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Ask anyone who plays slot machines, sevens are lucky. So, anyone watching the Portland State volleyball team have six match points erased Friday night on the road against California Baptist and had their heart racing, palms sweaty and teeth clenched, need not have worried.
 
Because the seventh match point was the lucky one for the Vikings, who avenged an earlier loss to the Lancers with a 3-2 (15-25, 25-17, 25-18, 20-25, 17-15) victory at CBU's home tournament, The Joust.
 
The Vikings (3-5), who led 14-9 in the fifth set, thought they had won it at 15-11 when they challenged a no-touch call at the net. Video replays were inconclusive, however, so the call stood, making it 14-12. The Lancers (3-5) saved two more match points to tie it at 14-all, then a sixth after Reese Biesemeyer put the Vikings ahead again at 15-14. The Vikings stayed calm, forcing a CBU attack error and then finally finished it on a kill from Tyra Schaub that did go off a CBU player this time.
 
It was the first five-set win of the season for the Vikings, as well as their first true road win. The Vikings had been 0-2 in both regards coming into the match.
 
"We believed we could win today and accepted the challenge of playing in an away gym against a good home team," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said.
 
"We are learning about our opponents faster and listening to the match better. Even in the fifth set, after CBU made good adjustments, we responded with some plays. Serving was the difference maker for us, especially in that environment."
 
Serving was a theme throughout Friday's match, but especially in the fifth set when both teams combined for six aces. Paige Stepaniuk recorded her sixth ace of the night – two more than her previous career high – to cap a 4-0 run for the Vikings that put them up 5-3. Elisabeth Levick added another ace as part of a second 4-0 run that put the Vikings up 9-5 in the fifth.
 
The Lancers countered with three straight aces from Eliana Posada to tie the set at 9-all. But the Vikings again pushed ahead with a 5-0 run that featured an ace from Alivia Eikenberg to earn their first match point at 14-9.
 
The Vikings finished with 15 aces to 11 for the Lancers. The 15 aces represented the Vikings' most in a match since they had 16 in a three-set win over Cal State Fullerton on Aug. 26, 2023.
 
The Lancers had the upper hand early in the match. They out-aced the Vikings 5-1 in the first set while dominating the opening frame, 25-15. The Lancers outhit the Vikings .423-to-.143 in the opening set, giving the appearance that Friday's match would go the same way as the Vikings' first against the Lancers. The Lancers won that match in three sets last Saturday at the Santa Clara Mission Classic while outhitting the Vikings .256-to-.134.
 
The Viking defense picked it up from there, however. The block came alive at the net, recording 3.0 blocks each in the second and third sets. Naomi White had four total blocks over the second and third sets, en route to 5.0 for the match. Willow Watson led all Vikings with 6.0 blocks Friday, setting a new career high for the freshman.
 
What's more, the Vikings out-aced the Lancers 7-2 over the second and third sets after the Lancers had the upper hand from the service line early. Stepaniuk had three of her six aces during that stretch, while Eikenberg had two of her three, and setters Ava Blascziek and Allison Panter had one each.
 
The serving and blocking helped fuel the Viking offense, which found itself in the third set. The Vikings outhit the Lancers .448-to-.207, with the .448 hitting percentage representing the Vikings' best mark in a set this season. Six different players recorded at least two kills for the Vikings in the set, while only one of those six committed an attack error.
 
The Lancers re-found their hitting in the fourth set, outhitting the Vikings .407-to-.077. Posada, a preseason All-WAC selection who hadn't played in a match yet this season, made a difference when she subbed in for the first time midway through the third set. Posada finished with 11 kills on .562 hitting, playing her best during a 13-3 finish to the fourth set that turned a 17-12 PSU lead into a 25-20 set victory for the Lancers.
 
The Lancers took a 3-1 lead early in the fifth set, but the Vikings eventually shifted momentum back to their side behind their serving.
 
Individually, Schaub set a career high for the second straight match, leading all players Friday with 15 kills on .268 hitting to go with seven digs. Schaub, a senior, only had two matches with 10+ kills before this weekend, but now has doubled that total after also recording 13 kills on .222 hitting against New Mexico Thursday.
 
"Tyra is playing with confidence, and she continues to develop her all-around game," Seemann said of Schaub's recent play. "She took huge swings for us tonight, especially in the fifth set."
 
Eikenberg added 13 kills while tying Stepaniuk for a match high with 14 digs. The double-double marked the freshman's fourth of the season, all of which have come in the Vikings' last five matches.
 
Watson chipped in seven kills on .462 hitting to go with her career-high six blocks.
 
Blascziek led the Vikings with 24 assists to go with five digs, three aces and two kills.
 
The Vikings can now go for a 3-0 weekend sweep when they close out The Joust Tournament against Cal State Fullerton at 11 a.m. Saturday.
 
Coincidentally, the Vikings also played a five-set match that started at 6 p.m. last Friday, before turning around for a match at 11 a.m. the next day. That was the Vikings' first match against California Baptist, which didn't go the Vikings' way. The Vikings will look for a better showing in this week's quick turnaround Saturday.
 
And if the Vikings find themselves with a lead, their fans would be fine if they closed out the match on their first match point this time. Even if sevens are lucky.
 
Match Notes:

• The Vikings re-took the lead in the all-time series between them and the Lancers, 2-1, after Friday's win.
• After starting the season 0-5 when losing the first set, the Vikings have now won back-to-back matches after dropping the opener.
• The Vikings won despite being outhit for the second straight match. New Mexico outhit the Vikings .203-to-.199 Thursday, while the Lancers outhit the Vikings .259-to-.228 Friday. Before this weekend, the Vikings hadn't won a match in which they were outhit since Nov. 10, 2023, when they beat Sacramento State despite being outhit.

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