Portland State University Athletics

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland State head volleyball coach Michael Seemann wanted to see improvement across the board following Thursday's conference-opening loss to Utah Tech.
 
He got it.
 
Tied at one set apiece with Southern Utah Saturday, the Vikings found their mojo again to close out a 3-1 victory (25-17, 15-25, 25-14, 25-8) at Viking Pavilion.
 
After four straight matches hitting .119 or lower, the Vikings (5-8, 1-1) bounced back with a .294 mark against the Thunderbirds (1-11, 0-2). Additionally, the Vikings held Southern Utah to .115 hitting while out-blocking (12.0-to-9.0) and out-digging (64-to-48) their opponents.
 
"I was really proud of the way we responded [from Thursday's match]. I thought we made more aggressive block moves. And then even our digging was a little bit more ambitious. Players were willing to go to the floor, willing to make stronger moves. That was not there two nights ago," Seemann said after the match.
 
Production from all areas of the court helped spark the Vikings' offensive resurgence. Seemann wanted to get production out of the left sides, in particular, after no one on the left recorded more than three kills Thursday against Utah Tech. Saturday, it was a different story.
 
Alivia Eikenberg broke out of a slump to produce a match-high 12 kills on .417 hitting from the left side. Eleven of Eikenberg's 12 kills came over the last two sets as she didn't sub into the match until late in the second set.
 
Ashley Repetti added a career-high 11 kills from the other pin position. She was also part of the Vikings' better defensive effort as she added 10 digs for the first double-double of her career.
 
A new 5-1 formation that allowed Paige Stepaniuk to sub on for Willow Watson in the back row helped stabilize the Vikings' defense. The Vikings had four players record 10+ digs for the first time this season. Libero Jessica Truong led that group with a match-high 15 digs, while Repetti, Stepaniuk and setter Ava Blascziek all recorded 10 digs each. Eikenberg nearly went into a double-double herself despite only playing 2+ sets as she finished with eight digs.
 
"The most consistent part of our gym is, we call them the 'littles', but they're our [defensive specialists]. So, we wanted to give them a chance to influence the match in the best way they could. And I thought it worked. We just kept the ball off the ground more often," Seemann said of the formation change.
 
"While we might lose offense on the right side, we're getting more opportunities. And if our outsides are doing what they did today, it doesn't hurt us that much."
 
 
The team's 64 digs were a four-set season high for the Vikings. Their previous best in a four-set match was 58 against DePaul on Sept. 2.
 
That helped open up the offense as much as anything, as did a breakout performance from Watson on the right. After five straight matches with less than 10 kills, Watson returned to form with 10 kills on .474 hitting. She didn't have an error until late in the match, and then only finished with one.
 
"Her success is not just the number you see in points from here but also what it does for the left sides. When she's hot, a lot of other things open up," Seemann said of Watson.
 
Reese Biesemeyer may have had the best stat line of the night. The junior middle blocker recorded eight kills on .667 hitting to go with 10 total blocks and two aces. The 10 blocks were a career high and marked the first time a Viking player had finished in double figures in five years.
 
"She's the one who's in [the office] every time wanting to get better, wanting to watch film, wanting more information. Sometimes that doesn't always translate into a better performance, but I think in this case, with her and her motivation, it certainly did," Seemann said of Biesemeyer.
 
The Vikings still had to go out and earn the win Saturday despite all the positives. Tied at a set apiece after a listless second set, Seemann lit a fire under his team in the huddle between sets two and three.
 
"I just felt like we were underperforming and that we couldn't accept that. I thought they responded well, every single one of them. The right attitude, the right execution, but also the right effort level. That was the biggest thing," Seemann said of the huddle.
 
The Vikings responded by running out to a 10-3 lead early in the third set. Four blocks helped the Vikings re-establish control of the match. Brenna Coffman was part of two of the four early blocks. She added three on four swings in the frame to put the Vikings back on the front foot.
 
The Vikings jumped on the Thunderbirds again early in the fourth set. They led 8-1 after the third early kill in the frame from Biesemeyer and never looked back. Biesemeyer even ended the match with an ace.
 
The Vikings will now hope to carry the mojo they found in the third and fourth sets on the road. They'll play at Weber State and Idaho State on Oct. 1 and 3, respectively, next week.
 
MATCH NOTES:

• The Vikings improved to 16-6 all-time against Southern Utah with the win Sunday. The Vikings have now won four in a row over Southern Utah.
• Blascziek recorded a second straight double-double with 38 assists to go with her 10 digs. She now has 18 career double-doubles.
• Eikenberg's .417 hitting percentage marked a new career high in a match where she had at least 12 kills.

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