PORTLAND, Ore. — The best thing about a young team is that they learn. The Portland State volleyball team showed that Thursday, shaking off two five-set losses last week to open Big Sky Conference play with a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-23, 25-22) of Idaho State at Viking Pavilion.
 
A week ago, the Vikings (5-7, 1-0) averaged only 9.0 kills per set across a pair of five-set losses to Oregon and Oregon State. Thursday, they recorded at least 13 kills in every set against the Bengals (4-9, 0-1), averaging 14.3 kills per set on .221 hitting.
 
The fact that the offensive showing came against the Bengals, who came into the week leading the Big Sky and ranked 17th nationally with 2.80 blocks per set, makes it all the more impressive. The Vikings held the Bengals without a block in the first set, while they out-blocked them 3.0-to-2.0 in the third.
 
"It was painful to lose those last two matches [against Oregon and Oregon State] but also, we all saw what we were capable of. So, I think with that same application moving into this match and getting a win, it feels good. It feels really good. What it does for a young team like this, to believe they can win, is really important," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said.
 
Better offensive distribution than last week helped the Vikings produce more kills against the Idaho State block. Five different players finished with at least five kills for the Vikings, as the team's middle and right-side hitters opened up the floor for pins Alivia Eikenberg and Tyra Schaub, who finished with 11 kills and 10 kills, respectively. Sydney Stenson recorded seven kills on .429 hitting from the right, while Reese Biesemeyer finished with six kills on .600 hitting out of the middle. Freshman Willow Watson set the tone early with three of her five kills on .375 hitting in the first set.
 
The fact that the Vikings got out to a hot start in Thursday's match showed they had learned another lesson. The Vikings had won only three of 11 first sets coming into the match, and they were averaging just .154 hitting in the opening set this season. They reversed both of those trends, winning the opener, 25-19, behind an offense that produced 16 kills on .234 hitting in the frame. Eikenberg led the way with four kills in the set, but Biesemeyer, Schaub, Stenson and Watson all had three of their own.
 
"The passing was on tonight. I thought we did a good job handling their serves, which allowed us to run the offense and get good distribution," Seemann said. "The setters had good options and put hitters in good situations, especially later in the first set."
 
The other lesson learned for the Vikings from last week was to stay loose in tense moments. The Vikings looked wildly different from one set to the next against Oregon and Oregon State in part because when they got in a bad run, they couldn't get out of it.
 
Not the case Thursday. The Bengals put that to the test early in the second set, winning five of the first six points in the frame that included a pair of blocks after the Vikings had skunked them at the net in the first set. The Bengals still led 12-8 when the Vikings went on a 5-0 run that featured kills from four different players as well as an ace from setter Ava Blascziek.
 
It remained a one- or two-point set the rest of the way, however, with the Bengals even going in front, 23-22, late. The Vikings got a kill from Eikenberg out of a timeout to make it 23-all, then two tough serves from libero Paige Stepaniuk sealed the deal, 25-23.
 
It was tight late in the third set, too. Neither team led by more than three points in the set after the Vikings led 7-4 early on. A kill from Idaho State's Brinley Smith tied it at 22-all. A dump kill from Blascziek broke the tie, giving the ball to the Vikings' best server in Allison Panter. A tough serve from Panter got the Bengals out of system, and the Vikings took advantage with a down-the-line kill from Stenson. Schaub then closed the door with a kill on match point after an Idaho State timeout.
 
"That was my speech to the team [after last week], what have we learned about ourselves this past weekend and how can we approach these tighter moments in the same state of mind as when we started the match. It's still a challenge and you can see we were still tense in some areas, but each of the sets tonight, we finished strong," Seemann said.
 
The Vikings won the service game with the Bengals, out-acing them 8-to-6. Blascziek led the way with three aces, while Biesemeyer, Eikenberg, Panter, Schaub and Stepaniuk all had one each.
 
Defensively, Stepaniuk led the way with 19 digs as the Vikings held the Bengals to an opponent season-low .145 hitting in the match.
 
Eikenberg also went into double figures with 10 digs, giving the freshman her sixth double-double already this season. Eikenberg also hit .194 on her 11 kills for her best hitting percentage since the second weekend of the season. Most importantly, after she had two reception errors within the Bengals' first seven points of the match, Eikenberg settled down and was rock solid from there on out. She finished with 36 zero receptions, three times as many as any other Portland State player.
 
"She really locked it in," Seemann said of Eikenberg. "She's making better decisions as an attacker, and I think she's really settling down as a serve receive passer. I think there's still so much more to her that you're going to see. You're going to see her continue to excel and thrive."
 
The Vikings now hit the road for the second half of their split home-and-away weekend to open Big Sky play. They'll play at Montana State Saturday at 6 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. MT. The Bobcats will be coming off their own conference-opening win, as they beat Eastern Washington in five sets on the road Wednesday.
 
It's new territory for a young Viking team. But these Vikings have shown that they can learn lessons quickly.
 
Match Notes:

• The Vikings snapped a three-match losing streak to the Bengals with Thursday's win. They increased their lead in the all-time series to 41-29.
• Blascziek nearly had her third double-double of the season with 20 assists and nine digs. Her three aces tied her season and career high.
• Panter finished with 17 assists and five digs as the Vikings' other setter in the 6-2 formation.
• The Vikings are now 9-6 in two-point sets this season after winning the second set, 25-23.

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