Portland State University Athletics

DEKALB, Ill. — It's a two-hour time jump traveling to the Central Time Zone from the West Coast. That affects everyone. But the Portland State volleyball team sure looked like it had adjusted Saturday, capping the NIU Invitational with a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-19, 25-13) of Murray State.
 
The offense broke through for the Vikings (2-4) in the sweep. After hitting .169 or lower in their first three matches this week, the Vikings hit a season-high .360 against the Racers (1-5). The .360 hitting percentage was the Vikings' best in a match since Nov. 10, 2022.
 
"We wanted to leave this weekend on a high note and we did exactly that," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said afterwards. "Offensively, we were able to get good distribution, a credit to the passing. We stayed balanced defensively and produced a lot of quality touches."
 
Six different Vikings recorded at least four kills in the match. Outside hitters Alivia Eikenberg and Ashley Repetti led the Vikings with 10 kills each while hitting .292 and .400, respectively. But the Vikings also got 10 kills combined from right-side hitters Katarina Kosic and Willow Watson on .556 and .250 hitting. Middle blockers Reese Biesemeyer and Brenna Coffman, meanwhile, recorded four kills each with Biesemeyer doing so while hitting .571.
 
Setters Ava Blascziek and Elisabeth Levick orchestrated the balance offensively, finishing with 20 and 12 assists, respectively.
 
The balance was evident early for the Vikings. Six different players recorded kills in the opening set as the Vikings finished with 16 kills on .452 hitting. That marked the Vikings' best 25-point set offensively this season. The Vikings didn't record an error until late in the set, by which point they had already built a 19-11 lead.
 
The Vikings jumped on the Races again early in the second set, taking a 15-7 lead after a kill from Eikenberg. They closed out the set from there, then took the drama out of the third set by winning 12 of 13 points to take a 17-8 lead. Biesemeyer had three aces over the early part of the run. Repetti followed with three straight kills a little later, while Blascziek added an ace of her own a little later.
 
The Vikings definitively won the serve-and-pass game, out-acing the Racers 10-to-3. Biesemeyer had four aces to lead the Vikings while Blascziek had three.
 
Defensively, Jessica Truong led the back row for the Vikings with 12 digs as they held the Racers to just .133 hitting. That was a season low for a Viking opponent.
 
Coffman led the Viking defense at the net, recording four blocks to go with her four kills. Biesemeyer and Watson added two blocks each.
 
The Vikings' adjustment to the Central Time Zone was fortuitous considering they'll return to the time zone next week for a tournament at Texas Tech. The Vikings will open the tournament Thursday, Sept. 10, against Prairie View A&M.
 
MATCH NOTES:

• Saturday's match was the Vikings' first-ever against Murray State.
• The Vikings were making their longest trip East since 2004 this week.
• Repetti set a career high with her 10 kills. She had tied her career high with nine kills last night against Northern Illinois.

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