PORTLAND, Ore. — There's nothing like an ace to settle a volleyball team's nerves.
The Portland State Vikings got three of them in their first six points in the fifth set – after dropping the previous two sets – and rode that to a comfortable 15-5 victory in the final frame. The Vikings denied Nevada a potential reverse sweep as a result, beating the Wolf Pack, 3-2 (27-25, 25-15, 25-27, 23-25, 15-5) at Viking Pavilion.
"Going into the fourth set, my team felt icy. Just a little bit nervous, I think. But going into the fifth set, I didn't feel that. It was very much like, 'okay, those two sets are in the past. We're winning this thing.' In fact, I heard that several times from several people. Credit to them for keeping their mindset in the right spot," Portland State head coach
Michael Seemann.
Alyssandra Ordona got the first of the three aces in the fifth set, while
Jessica Truong got the other two. Truong's second made it 6-1 in favor of the Vikings (1-1), and they never looked back from there.
The aces from Ordona and Truong – two players who started the match on the Vikings' bench – came as part of a strong match for the Viking bench in general.
Maryn Hall didn't play until the third set but then finished the match with 13 kills on .385 hitting.
Katarina Kosic didn't play until the fourth set but then recorded five kills on only six swings. Truong, meanwhile, set a career high with 11 digs to go with three total aces.
"We'd be silly to have 18 players – and quality depth at each position – and not use it. It's not against what I do, but I tend to give people longer time to simulate and work into some things and work through areas. But they created that faith now that I can go down the bench and put people in and have them make plays," Seemann said.
It looked initially like the Vikings wouldn't need to show their depth, and that they'd instead close out a quick, three-set win over the Wolf Pack (0-2). They rode their offense to a 2-0 lead, including a second set in which they outhit Nevada .280-to-.000.
Alivia Eikenberg – an All-Big Sky First-Team selection last year and a preseason all-conference pick this year – appeared to be in the best form she has ever been as a Viking. Eikenberg recorded 15 of her match-high 23 kills in the opening two sets when she was hitting .542.
Eikenberg added 20 digs to her 23 kills, making her the first Viking to record a 20-20 match since 2023, when Sophia Meyers had 21 kills and 20 digs against Montana State on Oct. 19. Eikenberg's 23 kills are the most by a Viking in a 20-20 match since Jessica Brodie had 36 against San Francisco in 2006.
"I thought she was hitting a thousand the first two sets. But yeah, she's playing really confident and loose, which is what she needs to do," Seemann said of Eikenberg.
"I'm super proud of her. She's growing in the game and making better choices here and there. Even early on, a couple of those swings that weren't kills, she did a great job putting pressure on the defense, when in the past those may have been errors. And so, I thought that was a really mature move by her."
Eikenberg's 20 digs, which was also a match high, helped fuel a strong showing from the Portland State defense. Two days after University of Portland hit .316 against them, the Vikings held Nevada to below .200 (.180 to be exact). Besides Eikenberg,
Paige Stepaniuk recorded 18 digs while
Ava Blascziek totaled 12 digs to go with 51 assists, tying a career high.
Additionally, while the Vikings only finished with 5.0 total blocks, they slowed the Wolf Pack's attack with touches at the net.
"We got contributions from everyone," Seemann said of his team's defense. "We were able to make some adjustments defensively, too, which they locked onto this time, first time, which is great. Overall, I was really pleased with what they did."
Hall did her best to get the Vikings done in the third set. She recorded kills on six straight PSU points, the last of which tied the set at 23-all after the Vikings had trailed 20-15 a few moments earlier. But the Wolf Pack escaped with the third set, 27-25, then won another two-point set in the fourth, 25-23.
But if the Vikings had any nerves at that point, they were well-hidden. Because they rolled in the fifth set, hitting .583 as a team. Eikenberg, appropriately, had the final two kills of the match, the last on an over pass that she smashed straight down to the floor.
The Vikings will take the good feeling from Sunday's win on the road with them, as they head to Chicago and the surrounding areas next week. It'll be the Vikings' longest trip East since 2004, as they play at DePaul on Sept. 2, then three matches at Northern Illinois' tournament, Sept. 4-5.
Hopefully a few early aces can settle any nerves the Vikings have from the travel. They can do that for a team.
MATCH NOTES:
- The Vikings improved to 7-3 all-time against the Wolf Pack with their win Sunday.
- The Vikings played 13 of their 18 rostered players Sunday, and nine of those recorded at least one kill.
- Stepaniuk passed Nicole Bateham (2008-11) for sixth on the Division I career digs list during the match.
