CEDAR CITY, Utah — Portland State head volleyball coach Michael Seemann lamented that his team didn't push back when Sacramento State got the Vikings in trouble Thursday. He didn't have the same lament Saturday, however, and now the Vikings find themselves back in a tie for first place in the Big Sky standings with a week to go in the regular season.
The Vikings faced a fourth-set deficit after dropping the third, but counter-punched this time to close out a motivated Southern Utah team and win 3-1 (29-27, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23) at America First Events Center. The Vikings trailed 15-12 midway through the fourth set, but claimed 10 of the next 14 points to go up 22-19. Southern Utah answered with three straight points to tie the set late, and it was still tied at 23-all, when Gabby Hollins shut the door with two straight kills to finish the match.
"We answered the charge in the fourth set. We stayed determined and executed late in the 20s, and we got huge swings when we needed them," Seemann said of the team's gutsy, close-out performance in the fourth set.
"We figured out a way to win on the road. That was a gutsy, scrappy home team, who was ready to win, and we closed the door. I really liked the production we got out of the middles tonight."
With the win, the Vikings (17-8, 11-3 Big Sky) moved back into a tie for first place in the Big Sky standings with Northern Colorado and Weber State, after the Bears beat the Wildcats in five sets Saturday. The Vikings can secure at least a share of the Big Sky regular-season title next weekend, as they host Montana State and Montana next Thursday and Saturday. Weber State hosts Northern Arizona and Southern Utah next week, while Northern Colorado plays at Eastern Washington and Idaho.
None of that would have been the case if the Vikings hadn't taken care of business at Southern Utah Saturday, however. It took some doing, as the Thunderbirds (6-20, 2-12) refused to go quietly.
Signs that this wouldn't be a gimme for the Vikings came late in the first set. A Makayla Lewis kill gave the Vikings a 22-16 lead late in the first, but the Thunderbirds immediately responded with a 6-0 run that tied it up at 22-all. Southern Utah then fought off two set points before taking a pair of set points themselves at 26-25 and 27-26. A block between Ashleigh Barto and Zoe McBride erased the first SUU set point, while another kill from Lewis erased the second. The Vikings then closed out the first set, 29-27, on their third set point when Parker Webb and Genevieve Florig combined for a block.
The second set proved more comfortable for the Vikings, as serving and defense led the way. The Vikings held Southern Utah to only eight kills on .057 hitting in the second set, while four of their eight aces Saturday came in the second. McBride recorded all three of her aces in the set, including two back-to-back that extended a 4-0 run that broke a 14-all tie midway through the set.
The match proved trickier from there, however, as the Vikings dropped the third set, then fell behind 13-10 midway through the fourth. It was still 15-12, when the Vikings started to shift momentum back to their side.
Hollins, who came off the bench after the opening set, kicked off the Vikings' comeback with three kills in a four-point stretch that got the Vikings back within one at 16-15. Back-to-back kills from Webb a little later pushed the Vikings back into the lead at 19-18. Lewis then sandwiched two kills around another from Webb that gave the Vikings a 22-19 lead.
But the Vikings still had to weather a final push from the Thunderbirds. Southern Utah tied things again with a 3-0 run, then successfully challenged a point to reverse the score and tie it again at 23-all. Hollins got the Vikings over the finish line from there, though, as she recorded back-to-back kills on the final two points of the match.
Hollins finished with 14 kills despite only playing the final three sets, and six of those 14 kills came in the fourth.
"We thought Gabby would match up well against this team, and she produced," Seemann said of Hollins.
Lewis, meanwhile, overcame a slow start to lead the Vikings in kills once again. Lewis only had five kills on .000 hitting through the first two sets of the match, but totaled 11 over the final two sets to finish with a team-high 16 kills. Lewis also had seven digs in the fourth set, half her total of 14 for the match. The 16 kills and 14 digs gave Lewis her 11th double-double of the season, second only to setter Ally Wada on the team.
Wada recorded her 13th double-double of the season Saturday, while hitting the 50-assist mark for the second time this season. Wada took over full-time setting duties in the match, as the Vikings reverted to a 5-1 formation from late in the first set on. Wada finished with 50 assists and 13 digs against the Thunderbirds.
Webb, meanwhile, recorded her fifth double-double of the season – and her first since the Vikings' match at Montana State on Oct. 16 – while finishing with 12 kills on .243 hitting to go with 10 digs.
The Vikings also got 12 kills combined from Barto and Florig out of the middle. Florig finished with seven kills on .417 hitting, four of which came on the first set. Barto had five kills while leading the team with three blocks.
All of it helped set up two hugely important home matches next weekend, as the Vikings look to secure at least a share of the Big Sky regular-season title for the first time since 2013. The Vikings open the weekend with a match against Montana State Thursday at 7 p.m.
Match Notes: The Vikings improved to 14-6 all-time against the Thunderbirds with Saturday's win…Saturday marked the Vikings' first win in Cedar City since 2018…Libero Ellie Snook recoded two aces Saturday, moving her into a tie for second on the single-season list during the 25-point scoring format.
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Vikings Fight Off Southern Utah Comeback, Move Back into Tie for First in Big Sky Standings - Portland State Vikings
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