First place redemption

In a match that had stakes for first place on the line, the Vikings put on an impressive display, easily defeating Northern Colorado in straight sets at the Stott Center (25-22, 25-20, 25-15).

The victory gives the Vikings sole possession of first place in the conference and a half game lead over Northern Colorado.

The Bears winning streak ended at five games while the Vikings winning streak has now reached five consecutive victories.

“For the first time all year I felt we played really solid as a group,” said Portland State head coach Michael Seemann.

The Vikings went down early in the first set and seemed out of sync on defense. But three consecutive kills by junior outside hitter Marija Vojnovic and strong play at the front of the net by juniors Erica Jepsen and Lindsey Steele helped the Vikings hold off the Bears to claim the critical first set point.

“Our goal as a team throughout the match was just to stay calm and play the way we are capable of playing,” Steele said.

If there was one advantage the Vikings had over Northern Colorado headed into this game, it was height. Most of the scoring in the second and third sets for the Vikings was due in large part with the play at the front of the net.

“Some of their rotations were weaker on the pins, so we wanted to isolate that,” Seemann said. The Vikings used the combination of Jepsen, Steele and freshman middle blocker Lana Zielke for most of the scoring at the net. The three players combined for 27 kills.

“We got some great contributions from Erica and Lindsey, it seemed like they had a tough time responding to them defensively,” Seemann said.

Junior setter Nique Fradella contributed 36 assists and added four kills, all of them coming at seemingly crucial moments.

“Nique was great in setting several opportunities to get me to score,” Steele said.

This victory was critical not only to help the Vikings move into first place, but also set a firm tone for the rest of the Big Sky Conference as teams head into their final weeks leading up to the Big Sky Championship Nov. 28-29.

“I hope we do play them again. This was a fun game to play but we are just taking it one game at a time,” Steele said about matching up with the Bears in the tournament.

Portland State will finish their regular season schedule with games at home against Northern Arizona this Saturday and Eastern Washington one week later.

Seemann put the win in perspective: “This was a good win against a great team. It was important standings wise, but if we see them again, we will go after them again.”