Important week for Portland State volleyball

The Viking volleyball team needs a win over either Northern Arizona University or Sacramento State this week in order to make its first-ever appearance at the Big Sky Championships.

That victory may be hard to come by for the Portland State team, which has struggled with inconsistent play all year. Northern Arizona and Sacramento State have had great seasons and are both assured positions in the championships, along with Montana State, Weber State and No. 1 ranked Eastern Washington University. The Vikings have failed to defeat either school so far this season.

PSU will take on Northern Arizona on Friday night at the Peter Stott Center, hoping to avenge its previous loss to the team in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Though the Vikings jumped to leads early in that game and kept pace with the Lumberjacks throughout, they were eventually defeated in three straight sets (30-24, 32-30, 30-25).

Fortunately for the Vikings, several of their players showed that they have the ability to supply strong competition against Northern Arizona. Richell Wilson turned in a double-double 17 kills and 10 digs, while Kathy Garbacz added 11 kills and 5 digs. Katie Kost was also an offensive threat with 11 kills, and Stephanie Lavigne had 43 assists. Kristin Ratzlaff led the team defensively with 15 digs.

Several Lumberjacks also turned in strong performances. Carrie Machesky had a team-leading 13 kills and has been playing well in recent matches. One of Northern Arizona’s strengths lies in the fact that several of its players are both offensive and defensive threats. Ellie Butterfield had 11 kills and 11 digs, and Chelsea Robb had 12 kills and 12 digs in that match. Claire Robertson added 12 kills and 6 digs.

After battling it out with Northern Arizona on Friday, the Vikings will return to the Stott Center on Saturday for their final home game against Sacramento State. The Vikings lost their October match-up with the Hornets, 3-1 (30-25, 30-23, 27-30, 30-23).

Wilson and Kost posted 15 and 13 kills apiece in that loss. Rachel Mogan had 11 kills, and Lavigne tallied 41 assists. Defensively, the Vikings had a solid night, with Ratzlaff working for 10 digs and Stacy Ball adding 5 blocks.

Hornet Jayme Wright had 17 kills, 18 digs and a .146 hitting percentage in the match. The Vikings will also have to contain Lisa Beauchene, who paced the Hornet offense with 10 kills and 44 assists.

The Vikings are currently 3-9 in Big Sky Conference play and 9-12 in NCAA scoring matches. Both games are at 7 p.m.