RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Get out the brooms.
 
The Portland State volleyball team closed out a weekend sweep with a 3-0 sweep of Cal State Fullerton Saturday, beating the Titans 25-22, 25-18, 25-23 to finish The Joust Tournament at Van Dyne Gym.
 
It's the first 3-0 tournament weekend for the Vikings (4-5) since they swept the Rose City Showdown presented by Hotel Vance in 2021. That was a home tournament for the Vikings, making this weekend the first road tournament sweep since the Vikings swept two road tournaments – the Nike Invitational and Gonzaga Tournament – in 2017.
 
And for a young Viking team that features 11 underclassmen on its 16-player roster – and returned only four years of starting experience on their team – it was a heck of a confidence booster two weeks away from Big Sky Conference play.
 
"We started and remained determined to play our game our way the whole weekend," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said after the match. "We learned about teams as we played them and made effective adjustments.
 
"Our newcomers are finding their groove, and they are beginning to understand that they do not need to perform flawlessly for us to win points. This was a group effort, and the team is determined to take steps forward."
 
The win was also redemption for the Vikings. For the second straight week, the Vikings were facing a quick turnaround after playing a five-set match the night before an 11 a.m. start on a Saturday. Last week, the Vikings didn't handle it well, looking sluggish in a 3-0 loss to California Baptist. But the Vikings took care of business this Saturday.
 
The Vikings out-killed (52-to-36) and outhit (.272-to-.216) the Titans (4-5) en route to the victory. The .272 hitting percentage marked a new season high for the Vikings by 26 percentage points. Additionally, the Vikings' 52 kills were more than they had over five sets in their win over California Baptist Friday night, even as Saturday's match only went three sets. The Vikings' best offensive set of the season led them to those numbers, as they set season highs for kills (20) and hitting percentage (.459) in the second set.
 
Balance allowed the Vikings to dominate offensively. Five different players recorded seven or more kills in the match, and only one of those five, Alivia Eikenberg (nine kills), plays on the left side.
 
The Vikings mostly got it done from their middle and right-side hitters. Freshman Willow Watson led that group with easily the best match of her young Portland State career. Watson recorded 14 kills without committing an attack error, hitting .609 for the best hitting percentage by a Viking since Gabby Hollins hit .636 against Northern Colorado on Sept. 23, 2023.
 
"Willow is a great defender, and she is growing into a very effective attacker on the right side. This is a relatively new position for her at the collegiate level, and she has accepted the challenge to be there for us," Seemann said of Watson.
 
All the other middle and right-side hitters were efficient in their own attacks Saturday. Naomi White hit .500 on her nine kills. Sydney Stenson hit .222 on eight kills, while Reese Biesemeyer totaled seven kills on .333 hitting.
 
The Vikings' passers set the offense up for that distribution. Libero Paige Stepaniuk led that group, which held the Titans to only one ace Saturday. Stepaniuk and Tyra Schaub were the primary passers for the Vikings and finished with 16 and 12 digs, respectively.
 
The distribution helped the Vikings late in the first set. With the Titans leading 21-20, the Vikings got four straight points to go back in front. Watson and Biesmeyer started the run with kills, then combined for a block on the fourth point of the run. Eikenberg closed out the set with a kill two points later.
 
The Vikings then won nine of the last 12 points in the second set to run away with the frame. Biesemeyer, Watson and White all had two kills during the closing run.
 
The second set was Watson's best frame of the match. She recorded half of her 14 kills on only 10 swings, hitting .700 in the frame. Biesemeyer recorded four of her seven kills on .800 hitting in the set.
 
Watson came up clutch again late in the third set. She broke a 21-all tie with back-to-back kills, then recorded a solo block on the Vikings' second match point to close out the victory.
 
Setters Ava Blascziek and Allison Panter led the Viking offense to their strong showing Saturday. Blascziek totaled 24 assists and seven digs, while Panter finished with 15 assists and five digs. Both setters also recorded an ace in the match.
 
The Vikings now return home for the last weekend of non-conference play. They'll host the state of Oregon next weekend, as the Oregon Ducks come into Viking Pavilion Friday at 7 p.m., before the Vikings host the Oregon State Beavers at 5 p.m. Saturday.
 
Last season, a record 1,340 fans saw the Vikings host the Ducks on Sept. 18, 2024. If another record crowd were to come Friday, then they'd see a Portland State volleyball team coming off its best weekend of the season.
 
Match Notes:

• The Vikings improved to 4-1 all-time against Cal State Fullerton with Saturday's victory.
• The Vikings' 52 kills Saturday marked a new three-set season high for the Vikings.

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