Author: Skyler Archibald

Marija Vojnovic has burst onto the scene in her second season as a Viking. She currently leads Portland State with 3.36 kills per game and sits second on the squad in digs, averaging 3.28 per contest.

The Stott Center provided a warm and friendly atmosphere for the road-weary Portland State Vikings (16-6, 9-2), as they easily swept a lowly Montana State (1-22, 0-11) squad in three games (30-19, 30-27, 30-19) Thursday night.

Responding to a challenge issued by their coaching staff and from within the team, the Vikings rebounded to trounce Idaho State Saturday night after a surprising sweep at the hands of Weber State Thursday.

After controlling the Big Sky Conference for the first half of the season before succumbing to powerhouse Sacramento State last week, the Vikings (15-5, 8-1) kick off the second half of their conference schedule with a match at Idaho State (5-15, 1-7) on Saturday.

It was only fitting that the two teams who came into Friday night’s match with so much at stake, battled it out for five tough games (30-25, 30-22, 26-30, 24-30, 15-10) before Sacramento State (19-3, 7-0) took down the Vikings (14-5, 7-1).

One glance at sophomore setter Dominique Fradella’s volleyball resume and any fan would come away impressed.

Two teams, separated by a 600-mile stretch of asphalt on Interstate 5, will meet Friday night in a match showcasing the Big Sky Conference’s two premier volleyball squads this season: Portland State and Sacramento State.

Sophomore middle blocker Erica Jepsen had the match of her life, leading the Vikings (13-4, 7-0) to another home victory against Eastern Washington (6-11, 5-2) Friday night.

After dominating the Big Sky Conference for nearly a month, Portland State (13-4, 7-0) will look to continue its solid play Tuesday night, as they take on the University of Portland Pilots (7-10, 0-3 West Coast Conference) at the Stott Center at 7 p.m.

Winning easily has become second nature for the Vikings of late, but Friday night they square off against conference rival Eastern Washington. And if statistics and history have something to say about it, the game will be anything but easy.

The month of September may have brought slightly cooler temperatures to the city of Portland, but Viking volleyball continues to heat up. Portland State easily downed the Northern Colorado Bears in three games (30-26, 30-22, 30-20) last Saturday at the Stott Center.