Winners of Eight of their Last 10, Vikings Look to Continue Roll at Home against SUU, NAU - Portland State Vikings

tampilansberita.blogspot.com

FIRST SERVE

The last time the Portland State volleyball team came home after a couple weekends on the road, they were 1-4 and the offense was hitting just .084. This time, it's fair to say things are a little different.

The Vikings have won eight of their last 10 matches since their first return home before the PDX Classic, Sept. 9-11. That run has included a 3-1 start to Big Sky play, as well as the first Big Sky road sweep for the Vikings since 2017. Now with eight of their final 12 matches at Viking Pavilion, the Vikings can deepen their run even further, starting with matches against Southern Utah Thursday and Northern Arizona Saturday.

Both sides of the game have been in sync for the Vikings, though the offense has seen the more noticeable turnaround since the start of the season. Through their first five matches of the season, the Vikings ranked last in the Big Sky while hitting .084 as a team. Since then, the Vikings are hitting .248 and have moved up to second in the Big Sky in both kills per set (12.8) and assists per set (11.8).

Makayla Lewis and Parker Webb have traded the hot hand for the Viking offense. Lewis owns it currently, as she's averaged over four kills a set during each of the last two weekends. Lewis stands at 4.21 kills per set in conference matches after last weekend, an average that ranks her fourth among all Big Sky players.

Webb hasn't exactly been slouching, either. She's recorded over 10 kills in nine of the Vikings' last 10 matches, and has hit .300 or better in seven of the last 10. Webb currently stands as the only player in the Big Sky to rank in the conference's top 10 for both kills per set (fourth, 3.49 k/s) and hitting percentage (fifth, .291).

The emergence of the Viking offense came to a head last Thursday, as the Vikings recorded their best team hitting percentage since 2016 while hitting .398 against Idaho. Three different players recorded at least 10 kills in the match while hitting at .333 or above. Lewis led that group with 14 kills on .333 hitting, while Zoe McBride and Maddy Reeb were both north of .500 while posting 11 and 10 kills, respectively. McBride posted her most efficient match yet as a Viking while recording her 11 kills on 19 swings without committing an attack error.

Setter Ally Wada has made it all run for the Vikings of late, as she's averaged 9.49 assists and 2.31 digs per set over the Vikings' last 10 matches. Wada shared the court last weekend, however, as the Vikings opted for a 6-2 formation when faced with matches on back-to-back days against Idaho and Eastern Washington. Teniyah Leuluai played well while trading off with Wada, as Leuluai recorded a career-high 23 assists Thursday against Idaho.

Reeb, meanwhile, subbed on with Leuluai in spell of Webb on the right side of the Viking offense. Like Leuluai, Reeb backed up her coaches' trust in her as she averaged 3.00 kills per set while hitting .485 over the weekend.

Southern Utah should counter the Vikings' offense with some strong play at the net Thursday. The Thunderbirds head into the weekend ranked third in the Big Sky with 2.2 blocks per set as a team. Raegen Ashby and Carissa Richie lead the Thunderbirds individually, as they average 1.06 and 1.03 blocks per set, respectively, which ranks them third and fifth in the Big Sky this season. Libero Calli Johnson also ranks fourth in the conference with 3.79 digs per set.

The Vikings should have the defense to match the Thunderbirds, however. The Vikings earned Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honors for three straight weeks before having their streak snapped this week. Libero Ellie Snook claimed two of those three awards and still sits comfortably atop the Big Sky in digs per set with an average of 5.35. Genevieve Florig won the middle of the three awards, and ranks fourth in the Big Sky with 1.05 blocks per set.

As a team, the Vikings rank third in opponent hitting percentage (.180), while they lead the conference with 16.6 digs per set. Besides Snook, four other starters average at least 2.00 digs per set between McBride (2.88 d/s), Lewis (2.45 d/s), Wada (2.29 d/s) and Webb (2.00 d/s).

Saturday's match against Northern Arizona could prove to be the exact opposite of Thursday, as both team's offenses might slug it out that night. NAU comes into the match ranked third in the Big Sky while hitting .212 as a team, the exact same percentage they're giving up to opposing teams, oddly enough. Taylor Jacobsen – an All-Big Sky first-team selection last season – leads NAU offensively while ranking second in the Big Sky with 3.67 kills per set. Jacobsen has been even better in Big Sky play, when she's averaged 4.25 kills per set while leading the conference with 5.08 points per set.

Besides Jacobsen, Lyla Hollins ranks seventh in the Big Sky with 3.22 kills per set, though she hasn't played since the team's second match against New Mexico on Sept. 18. Ryann Davis, meanwhile, ranks fourth in the Big Sky in terms of hitting percentage at .308.

The Lumberjacks had been one of three remaining unbeaten teams in Big Sky play until Saturday, when they fell to one of the other two unbeatens, losing 3-0 to Northern Colorado. This Saturday's matchup could be another showdown between two 4-1 teams, should both the Vikings and Lumberjacks win their matches Thursday.

It's going to make for an exciting weekend at home for the Vikings, but one they're prepared for after finding their groove at the start of their previous homestand.

Both Thursday and Saturday's matches are at 7 p.m. PT.

MATCH #1: PORTLAND STATE (9-6, 3-1) vs. SOUTHERN UTAH (5-11, 1-3)

LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Thursday, Oct. 7, 7 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH: The Southern Utah Thunderbirds split their opening weekend of Big Sky play, falling in five sets to Eastern Washington at home before beating Idaho in four sets two days later. The Thunderbirds followed with a 3-0 loss to rival Northern Arizona on Sept. 28, and then dropped a four-set match against Northern Colorado on Sept. 30. The Thunderbirds have been off since then, meaning Thursday's match against the Vikings will be their first in a week. The Thunderbirds went 4-8 over its non-conference schedule, with wins over Long Island (3-2 on Aug. 28), George Mason (3-2 on Sept. 4), New Orleans (3-1 on Sept. 10) and Dixie State (3-2 on Sept. 17). Overall, the Thunderbirds have been stronger defensively than they have been offensively. Southern Utah ranks third in the Big Sky with 2.2 blocks per set, as well as eighth with an opponent hitting percentage of .214. That's helped the Thunderbirds make up for an offense that ranks last in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.136), kills per set (10.2) and assists per set (9.17). Raegen Ashby and Carissa Richie lead the Thunderbirds with 1.06 and 1.03 blocks per set, respectively, which ranks them third and fifth in the Big Sky individually. Libero Calli Johnson also ranks fourth in the Big Sky with 3.79 digs per set. Offensively, Stacey Hone – an All-Big Sky second-team selection last season – leads the Thunderbirds with 2.05 kills per set, ranking her just ahead of Ronnie Robinson (1.98 k/s) and Rylee Achtzehn (1.79 k/s). The Thunderbirds went through a late coaching switch just before the season started. Kacey Nady, a former indoor volleyball player for the University of Oregon, was hired as the Thunderbirds' head coach on Aug. 5, after former head coach Pete Hoyer was relieved of his duties at the end of July.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Thunderbirds, 12-6. The Thunderbirds have won three straight in the series, however, and four of the last six matches. The Vikings' last win was an instant classic, as they topped the Thunderbirds, 19-17, in an extended fifth set on Oct. 5, 2019.

MATCH #2: PORTLAND STATE (9-6, 3-1) vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA (5-8, 3-1)

LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Saturday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m. PT, Portland, Ore. (Viking Pavilion)
SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA: The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks swept their first three Big Sky matches, beating Idaho (Sept. 23), Eastern Washington (Sept. 25) and Southern Utah (Sept. 28) before falling to another conference unbeaten in Northern Colorado, 3-0, last Saturday. The 3-0 start to conference play helped the Lumberjacks find their groove after they went 2-7 while playing a difficult non-conference schedule. Three of the Lumberjacks' seven non-conference losses came against Power 5 schools in Florida State (3-0 on Aug. 27), LSU (3-1 on Aug. 28) and Arizona State (3-1 on Sept. 10). The Lumberjacks' two non-conference wins came via a 3-2 win over UC Davis on Sept. 10, and a 3-1 win over New Mexico on Sept. 16. Statistically, the Lumberjacks head into the weekend with perfect symmetry. They've hit .212 so far this season – ranking them third in the Big Sky – while opponents are hitting .212 against them. Perfect. Other than that, the Lumberjacks rank in the middle of the conference in most categories, as they stand sixth in kills per set (11.9), sixth in assists per set (11.0) and seventh in digs per set (13.3). NAU ranks highest in blocks, where they stand fourth in the conference with 2.1 blocks per set. Individually, the Lumberjacks returned All-Big Sky first-team selection Taylor Jacobsen, who comes into this weekend ranked second in the Big Sky with 3.67 kills per set. Jacobsen has been even better in Big Sky play, when she's averaged 4.25 kills per set while leading the conference with 5.08 points per set. Jacobsen also ranks 10th in the league with 0.33 service aces per set across the whole season. Besides Jacobsen, Lyla Hollins ranks seventh in the Big Sky with 3.22 kills per set, though she hasn't played since the team's second match against New Mexico on Sept. 18. Ryann Davis ranks fourth in the Big Sky in terms of hitting percentage at .308. Jordan Elder leads the Lumberjacks at the net, as she ranks eighth in the conference with 0.98 blocks per set.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Lumberjacks lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 31-21. The Lumberjacks have owned the series of late, as they've won three straight and 14 of their last 16 matches against the Vikings.

STORYLINES/STREAKS/RECORDS

The Vikings posted their first Big Sky road sweep since 2017 with back-to-back 3-0 wins over Idaho and Eastern Washington last weekend. The Vikings have won eight of their last 10 matches overall.
The Vikings hit .398 against Idaho Thursday, the team's best mark since they hit .432 against Montana State on Sept. 29, 2016 – one day over five years before Thursday's match.
The Vikings went 3-1 over a four-match road trip to start Big Sky play. Eight of the Vikings' last 12 matches will be at home, including six of their final seven.
Four of the Vikings' nine wins this season have come in matches where they dropped the opening set. One of those four wins came against Idaho State on the opening weekend of Big Sky play as the Vikings won three straight after dropping the opener to the Bengals. The Vikings also recorded their first comeback from an 0-2 deficit since 2016, with a 3-2 win over North Dakota State on Sept. 18.
Ellie Snook leads the Big Sky with 5.35 digs per set, an average that also ranks her 14th in the nation. Snook moved up to eighth in the Big Sky with 0.35 aces per set, after she had three last weekend between the Vikings' matches against Idaho and Eastern Washington.
Makayla Lewis has averaged over four kills per set during each of the last two weekends. Lewis comes into this weekend averaging 4.21 kills per set against Big Sky opponents, a mark that ranks her fourth among conference players. Lewis matched her most efficient match of the season in Thursday's win over Idaho, recording a match-high 14 kills on .333 hitting. Lewis ranks sixth in the Big Sky with 3.27 kills per set over the whole season.
Parker Webb is the only player in the Big Sky Conference to rank in the top 10 for both kills per set and hitting percentage. Webb ranks in the top five of both categories, as she stands fourth in kills per set (3.49) and fifth in hitting percentage (.291).
Ally Wada ranks fourth in the Big Sky with 8.73 assists per set, while leading the Viking offense to high rankings as a team. The Vikings rank second in kills per set (12.8) and assists per set (11.8) this season. Additionally, after they ranked last in the conference with a .084 hitting percentage through their first five matches, the Vikings now rank sixth in hitting percentage at .202.
The Vikings played a 6-2 formation from the start of both matches last weekend. Teniyah Leuluai and Maddy Reeb came on for Ally Wada and Parker Webb, and both played well in their most extensive action of the season. Leuluai set a career high with 23 assists in Thursday's win over Idaho, while Reeb averaged 3.00 k/s on .485 hitting across both matches.
Genevieve Florig averaged 1.33 blocks per set over the weekend, and now ranks fourth in the Big Sky with 1.05 blocks per set on the year.
The Vikings have hit .200 or better in nine of their last 10 matches, with the lone exception being their match at defending-champion Weber State on Sept. 23. The Vikings are 9-1 when they hit over .200, and 0-5 when they don't.
The Vikings have more upperclassmen (10) than underclassmen (6) for the first time since 2018. It's a far cry from the team's numbers two years ago, when they had seven freshmen and nine underclassmen on their 12-player roster. The team has three fifth-year players in Genevieve Florig, Maddy Reeb and Parker Webb.
The Vikings added six newcomers over the offseason between three true freshmen – Morgan Halady, Teniyah Leuluai and Lily Snook – and three transfers – Genevieve Florig, Makayla Lewis and Sydney Rabe. Of the transfers, Florig came in as a grad transfer from UCONN, Lewis played two years at San Jose State, while Rabe was at UW Green Bay last year but didn't play and remains a redshirt freshman. Florig joins Zoe McBride, who transferred to the Vikings before last season, as players from the Portland area who started their careers at other Division I schools before transferring back to the region.
Lily Snook joined her sister Ellie on the Vikings' team this season. Their father, Jamie Snook, also played men's basketball at Portland State from 1996-99. Additionally, their cousin, Jake Porter, plays for the Vikings' football team, and Jake's dad played baseball at Portland State in the 1990s.
Maddy Reeb would have exhausted her eligibility last year, but decided to come back for a fifth year after the NCAA granted all volleyball players an extra year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reeb split time between being a setter and an outside hitter during her first four years at Portland State, but will play exclusively on the outside this season. Reeb's versatility saw her become the first Viking since 2010 to record a triple-double last year, which she did twice during the season.

COMEBACK VIKS

Comebacks have become part of the Vikings' DNA this season, as four of the team's nine wins have come when they lost the opening set. The Vikings will also frequently make late runs to win sets in which they were way down. An example of that came in Friday's win over Eastern Washington when the Vikings overcame a 17-11 deficit to win the first set on the way to a 3-0 sweep. The best example, however, came in the Vikings' 3-1 victory over Gonzaga on Sept. 19. The Vikings fell behind 15-8 in the first set and 21-13 in the third, only to come back and win both. The Vikings won 11 of the final 15 points to steal the first set, then won 12 of the final 14 points in the third. In the fourth set, the Vikings won 16 of the final 20 points as they ran away with it after the Zags took an early 10-5 lead. The Vikings also overcame an 0-2 deficit to beat North Dakota State in five sets on Sept. 18, the first time the Vikings have erased a two-set deficit since Sept. 8, 2016. The Vikings also dropped the opening set of their wins over Santa Clara (3-1) on Aug. 28, Grand Canyon (3-2) on Sept. 10 – who was unbeaten at the time – and Idaho State (3-1) on Sept. 25. The comeback gene is a fitting part of the Vikings' DNA this season after head coach Michael Seemann introduced competition as early and as often as possible during the Vikings' fall camp in August.

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER

The Viking offense was called resurgent after posting a solid couple weekends in a row following a tough opening to the season. But that resurgence has continued for so long that it's now just the Viking offense. The Vikings had one of their best offensive weekends in some time last weekend at Idaho and Eastern Washington. The Vikings hit .398 as a team in Thursday's win over Idaho, setting the best mark for the team since they hit .432 in a 3-0 win over Montana State on Sept. 29, 2016. Three different players recorded at least 10 kills while hitting at least .333 in the match between Makayla Lewis (14 kills, .333), Zoe McBride (11 kills, .579) and Maddy Reeb (10 kills, .529). The Vikings then bounced back from a rocky first set to hit .234 in a 3-0 sweep of Eastern Washington the next day. Over their last 10 matches, the Vikings have topped .200 nine times – a stark contrast to their first five matches, when the Vikings were ranked last in the Big Sky while hitting .084. Multiple players have all had a role in the turnaround, but the two outside hitters who have led the way have been Parker Webb and Lewis. Webb has averaged 3.79 kills per set while hitting .326 over the Vikings' last 10 matches, while Lewis has averaged 3.64 k/s on .209 hitting. Setter Ally Wada also deserves much of the credit as she's averaged 9.49 assists per set while guiding the Viking offense to .248 hitting over their last 10 matches. Zoe McBride, Gabby Hollins and Maddy Reeb have all had their moments, too, as well as freshman setter Teniyah Leuluai, who split time with Wada in a 6-2 formation last weekend.

DEFENSE TOUGH AT THE NET, STEADY IN THE BACK

As much as the Vikings' offense has hit its stride, the team owes a lot of its recent success to a defense that produced three straight Big Sky Defensive Players of the Week between Ellie Snook (twice) and Genevieve Florig. The Vikings rank third in the Big Sky with an opponent hitting percentage of .190, after holding six of their last seven opponents to .177 or less. The Vikings held Eastern Washington to .085 hitting in their win Friday, the second time this season the Vikings have held an opponent to under .100 hitting. Snook – last year's Big Sky Libero of the Year – leads all of the Vikings' defensive efforts, just as she leads the Big Sky by a commanding margin with 5.35 digs per set. There's depth behind Snook this season, too, as four other regular starters average over 2.00 digs per set. Zoe McBride leads the group behind Snook with 2.88 digs per set, while Makayla Lewis (2.45 d/s), Ally Wada (2.29 d/s) and Parker Webb (2.00 d/s) follow behind her. Florig, meanwhile, ranks fourth in the Big Sky with 1.05 blocks per set after recording eight blocks across the team's six sets last weekend.

ELLIE SNOOK STANDS ALONE

Ellie Snook joined elite company within the Viking program when she was named the Big Sky Conference Libero of the Year last season. Snook wrote her name next to Kasimira Clark (2012, 2013) and Tasha Bojanic (2017) as fellow honorees, giving the program four recipients over the past nine seasons. Within this season, Snook remains in a company by herself as she holds a commanding lead within the Big Sky Conference for digs per set. Snook averages 5.35 digs per set, more than a full dig better than the No. 2-ranked player in the conference, Montana's Sarina Moreno at 4.33. Snook has seven matches with at least 20 digs this season, including four in a row with at least 25 digs from Sept. 18-25. Snook's season high remains 30 digs, a benchmark she's hit twice between the Vikings' wins over Santa Clara on Aug. 28 and Grand Canyon on Sept. 10. The Vikings are 6-1 this season when Snook records at least 20 digs in a match.

MAKAYLA LEWIS, FROM SPARTAN TO VIKING

A transfer from San Jose State before the season, Makayla Lewis has made a seamless transition from being a Spartan to a Viking. Lewis averaged over four kills a set during the each of the last two weekends. In four Big Sky matches so far, Lewis averages 4.21 kills per set – a mark that ranks her fourth in the conference since the start of Big Sky play. Lewis was at her most efficient in the Vikings' three-set win over Idaho last Thursday. Lewis posted a match-high 14 kills on .333 hitting while helping the Vikings record their best hitting percentage since 2016 with a mark of .398. Lewis' emergence coincided with the Vikings' turn of fortune. Over the last 10 matches, during which time the Vikings have gone 8-2, Lewis has averaged 3.64 kills, 2.69 digs, 0.41 blocks and 0.26 aces per set while hitting .209. Lewis' best match this season came in the Vikings' five-set win over previously unbeaten Grand Canyon on Sept. 10. Lewis set a career high with 25 kills in that match, as she hit .302 while adding 12 digs. Lewis also had 19 kills on .333 hitting in the Vikings' four-set win over cross-town rival University of Portland on Sept. 9.

WEBB SLINGER

With apologies to Peter Parker, the Spider-Verse doesn't appeal to us nearly as much as the Parker Webb-Verse. The Vikings' last 10 matches have seemingly all been played in the Parker Webb-Verse, as the redshirt senior has averaged 3.79 kills per set on .326 hitting over that stretch. Webb has recorded at least 10 kills in nine of the Vikings' past 10 matches, while she's hit over .300 in seven of the last 10. Even with her sustained success, Webb took her game to a new level at the Les Schwab Rose City Showdown from Sept. 17-19. There, Webb averaged 4.67 kills, 2.33 digs, 0.92 blocks, 0.42 aces and 5.58 points per set while hitting .385. Those numbers earned her Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honors, the second time in her career she has been so honored. Webb's been at her best in the Vikings' two five-set wins this season. Webb helped the Vikings hand Grand Canyon its first loss of the season on Sept. 10, recording 22 kills on .383 hitting to go with 14 digs against the Lopes. Webb then topped that with 23 kills on .360 hitting and 15 digs in the Vikings' five-set win over North Dakota State on Sept. 18. That match saw Vikings erase an 0-2 deficit for the first time since 2016. Overall, Webb's efficiency coupled with her production means she's the only player in the Big Sky to rank in the conference's top 10 for both kills per set and hitting percentage. Webb ranks highly in both categories, too, as she stands fourth in kills per set (3.49) and fifth in hitting percentage (.291).

A WHOLE LOTTA WADA

Senior Ally Wada has been a walking double-double since arriving in Portland from San Francisco before last season. Wada had 11 double-doubles in 17 matches last season, and already has seven in the Vikings' first 15 matches this season. Six of Wada's seven double-doubles this season have come in the Vikings' last 10 matches as she's helped the Viking offense turn a corner after a rough start to the season. Behind Wada, the Vikings have hit .229 or better in all but one of their previous 10 matches. That's a stark contrast to how the Vikings started the year, as they ranked last in the Big Sky while hitting just .084 through their first five matches. Wada's numbers have risen in that same span, as she's averaged 9.49 assists and 2.31 digs per set over the team's last 10 matches. Wada's best match came in the Vikings' five-set win over Grand Canyon on Sept. 10. Wada set a new career high with 62 assists against the Lopes, 11 of which came as the Vikings recorded 14 kills in the fifth set. Wada now ranks fourth in the Big Sky with 8.73 assists per set for the season, while she's helped the Vikings jump to second in the conference in both kills per set (12.8) and assists per set (11.8).

NO LONGER A MCBRIDESMAID, NOW A MCBRIDE

At the PDX Classic on Sept. 9-11, Zoe McBride recorded only one kill in seven sets, as she played sparingly due to lack of production. Head coach Michael Seemann said McBride did not accept that of herself, however, and responded with a great week of practice in the week that followed. She hasn't looked back sense. In the very next weekend after the PDX Classic, McBride recorded three straight double-doubles as the Vikings went 3-0 at their home tournament, the Les Schwab Rose City Showdown. Last weekend, McBride put together her most efficient match of the season to date while leading the Vikings to a three-set sweep of Idaho Thursday. McBride totaled 11 kills on 19 swings without committing an attack error, giving her a .579 hitting percentage. McBride added 12 digs to her 11 kills, too, as she recorded her fourth double-double of the season. McBride also put together a big match in the Vikings' 3-1 win over Gonzaga on Sept. 19, when she set season highs for kills (15) and digs (19).

FLIRTING WITH A 6-2

The Vikings played in a 6-2 from the start of both matches last weekend, as Teniyah Leuluai and Maddy Reeb came on in spell of Ally Wada and Parker Webb during the team's matches against Idaho and Eastern Washington. It amounted to the most action of the season for both players, and each of them equated themselves well. Leuluai set a new career high with 23 assists in the Vikings' win over Idaho, as she and fellow setter Ally Wada led the Vikings to .398 hitting for the team's best hitting percentage since 2016. Reeb was part of that as a right-side hitter for the Vikings, as she recorded 10 kills on .529 hitting against the Vandals. Reeb was also efficient in the Vikings' match against Eastern Washington the next day, recording eight kills on .438 hitting. For the weekend, Reeb averaged 3.00 kills per set on .485 hitting, while Leuluai averaged 5.83 assists per set while helping the Vikings hit .312 as a team.

YOUNG NO MORE

The Vikings have more upperclassmen (10) than underclassmen (6) this season for the first time since 2018. The team has been developing its young players over the past two seasons, and now has as many fifth-year seniors (3 – Genevieve Florig, Maddy Reeb, Parker Webb) as they do true freshmen (3 – Morgan Halady, Teniyah Leuluai, Lily Snook). It's a far cry from where the Vikings' roster was two years ago, when the team featured seven freshmen and nine underclassmen on their 12-player roster.

DIVISION I TRANSFERS

The Vikings have added six Division I transfers in the past two seasons. Zoe McBride (Morgan State), Megan Sester (Cal Baptist) and Ally Wada (San Francisco) joined the Vikings before last season, while Genevieve Florig (UCONN), Makayla Lewis (San Jose State) and Sydney Rabe (UW Green Bay) joined the Vikings before this season. McBride and Wada finished with four and 11 double-doubles, respectively, in the team's shortened 2021 winter season. Lewis, meanwhile, was the only Viking to finish with at least eight kills, four blocks and 10 digs in the team's 5-0 exhibition win over Central Washington Monday.

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS

Big Sky coaches picked the Vikings to finish sixth in the conference before the season. If that were to come to fruition, it would mark the Vikings' highest finish within the conference since 2017, when they placed fourth. A sixth-place finish in the Big Sky would also see the Vikings return to the Big Sky tournament for the first time since 2017, when they made it to the conference semifinals before losing to regular-season champion and host Sacramento State.

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Oct. 1, 2021, Portland State 3, Eastern Washington 0: The Vikings completed their first Big Sky road sweep since 2017 with a 3-0 sweep of Eastern Washington.
Sept. 30, 2021, Portland State 3, Idaho 0: The Vikings hit .398 for their best hitting percentage in a match since they hit .432 in a three-set win over Montana State on Sept. 29, 2016. Three different players recorded at least 10 kills while also hitting over .333. Zoe McBride and Maddy Reeb totaled 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while both hit north of .500 at .579 and .529.
Sept. 25, 2021, Portland State 3, Idaho State 1: The Vikings overcame a first-set loss to beat the Bengals in four sets. Out of seven wins so far this season, four have come in matches where the Vikings dropped the opening set.
Sept. 19, 2021, Portland State 3, Gonzaga 1: The Vikings overcame late deficits in the first and third sets to beat the Zags in four. The Vikings trailed by at least five points in every set that they won. The Vikings won 11 of the final 15 points in the first set after falling behind 19-14. The Vikings then won 12 of the final 14 points in the third set after trailing 21-13. In the fourth set, the Vikings won 16 of the final 20 points to run away with it after Gonzaga led 10-5 early.
Sept. 18, 2021, Portland State 3, North Dakota State 2: The Vikings overcame an 0-2 deficit while reverse sweeping the Bison to win in five sets. It was the first time the Vikings have come back to win after losing the first two sets since doing it against Utah State on Sept. 8, 2016.
Sept. 17, 2021, Portland State 3, North Dakota State 0: The Vikings hit a seasonal-best .312 against the Bison, who came into the match having won four straight, including a 3-1 win over Cal out of the Pac-12. The Vikings hadn't topped .300 hitting in a match since their 2019 season opener.
Sept. 10, 2021, Portland State 3, Grand Canyon 2: The Vikings handed Grand Canyon, which entered the match 7-0, its first loss of the season while winning in five sets. Makayla Lewis and Parker Webb became the first Viking teammates to record 20+ kills in the same match since Pati Anae and Eva Linden each had 21 kills against Montana State on Oct. 24, 2015. Those two were also part of four Vikings who finished with double-doubles in the match, only the second time that's happened since 2010, and the first time since 2019.
Sept. 9, 2021, Portland State 3, Portland 1: The Vikings beat their cross-town rival in the Pilots, breaking open a match that had been tied 1-1 and 14-all in the third set. The Vikings won 11 of the final 14 points of the third set, then dominated the fourth set, 25-7.
Aug. 28, 2021, Portland State 3, Santa Clara 1: Ellie Snook set a new four-set career high with 30 digs as the Vikings overcame a first-set loss to beat the Broncos in four sets. Snook had 14 digs in the crucial third set alone. Ally Wada was named to the Oregon Invitational All-Tournament Team after she finished with 33 assists and 17 digs in the match.

Print Friendly Version

Adblock test (Why?)

"last" - Google News
October 06, 2021 at 07:35AM
https://ift.tt/2YlfHKb

Winners of Eight of their Last 10, Vikings Look to Continue Roll at Home against SUU, NAU - Portland State Vikings
"last" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2rbmsh7
https://ift.tt/2Wq6qvt

Bagikan Berita Ini

Search