Clean sweep

The Portland State women’s volleyball team is peaking at just the right time.

The Vikings made quick work of Montana and Montana State on back-to-back nights over the weekend. Hitting over .250 in both matches, the Vikings continue to be an offensive force and have extended their conference record to 10-2 and winning streak to five games.

“A lot of it has to do with passing,” said senior setter Nique Fradella. “The past couple of games for us have been good [offensively].”

Going into a hostile environment at Montana on Friday night, the Vikings hunkered down for a battle against a Grizzlies team that won three of their last four games at home. Terminating shots with greater frequency across the board, the Portland State squad got contributions from every position.

With senior outside hitter Marija Vojnovic and junior outside hitter Whitney Phillips both turning in outstanding performances, the Vikings were able to control from the beginning set until the final point and swept Montana in three straight sets: 25-20, 25-23, 25-22.

“I thought we played really well as a team,” Phillips said. “We were ready to go and didn’t let the fans get to us.”
Hitting .297 as a team and while holding the Grizzlies to under .200, Portland State elevated their play in all facets of the game. Falling behind early in the third set, the Vikings showed their mental toughness again by closing out in convincing fashion on the back of Vojnovic, who scored the final two points of the match.

After sweeping the series against the Grizzlies, Portland State next traveled to Bozeman, Mont., to take on Montana State on Saturday.

The Bobcats, who had been playing extremely well recently, came into the match against the Vikings off an upset a week earlier over Montana for the first time in nearly three years.

“We knew Montana State was playing really well,” Fradella said. “They’re the most improved team [in the conference].”

Despite the improved play of the Bobcats, Portland State continued their motto of “One game at a time, one point at a time.” With some momentum left over from the previous night’s game against the Grizzlies, the Vikings took the first set with relative ease, 25-16.

In what looked like the determining set of the match, the Vikings fell behind early in the second set, 3-0. Playing the part of a veteran team, they eventually tied the set at 7-all and continued to battle until pulling out the win, 25-23.

“They came out a stronger team than when we played them the first time,” Phillips said. “We leaned on people to get through [the] rough patches.”

Beginning much the way the match started, the Vikings poured it on in the end and closed out the win with a 25-13 third set. Finishing their road trip and remaining undefeated against the Montanas leaves the Vikings in first place, and a half game ahead of second-place Northern Colorado.

With a little bit of breathing room between them and the rest of the conference, the Vikings look forward to three pivotal matches in the Park Blocks against the rest of the upper echelon of the Big Sky Conference. Despite the improved play, Phillips and the rest of the Vikings are still looking to improve.

“Day in and day out we focus on blocking and defense,” Phillips said. “[This week] we are going to work on limiting our errors.”

With their upcoming homestand including the second and third place teams in the Big Sky, Portland State should have their hands full and will need strong efforts from everyone on the team in order to retain their hold on first place.

Portland State hosts Eastern Washington on Friday. Match time is set for 7 p.m. in the Stott.