Beginning a road schedule with back-to-back games in separate states is something even the most veteran teams would prefer to avoid. For the Vikings, it will be the norm this season with the new scheduling techniques being employed by the Big Sky to save programs money.
“Anytime you’re on the road in someone else’s gym, you’ve got to come in and prepare for playing in front of their home crowd and different environments,” said head coach Michael Seemann. “The rigors of traveling, especially back-to-back, make it a lot more difficult to come in and really focus.”
Landing in Ogden, Utah, on Friday, the Vikings opened up their two-game road trip against the Weber State Wildcats. Heading into the match with aspirations of remaining atop the conference standings, Portland State was the clear favorite after sweeping the Montana Grizzlies the previous week to remain undefeated in the Big Sky.
Losing the first match 27–25, the Vikings bounced back in the second set with solid hitting (.207) and strong defense which was evident from the Wildcats drop-off in hitting (-.032). Even more telling was the lack of lead changes or ties throughout the match as well.
Splitting the next two matches with the winning team hitting .414 in each match, the Vikings headed into the pivotal final match with a 25–16 win. However, the Wildcats refused to give up their first conference victory, putting on a clinic in finishing matches with a deciding 15–9 win.
Still feeling the sting from the unexpected loss at Weber State, the volleyball team headed to Idaho on Saturday to face Idaho State. Again the favorite to win, the Vikings would have to do some soul searching on the ride up and decide what kind of team they wanted to be this year.
The result from the inward reflection was a dominating 3–0 win against the Bengals on their home court in Pocatello, Idaho.
Riding the improved play of junior Lana Zielke, Idaho State failed to pose much of a threat after a close first match that Portland State eked out at 24–22 in their favor. Zeilke hit .750 for the match, which ranked fourth all time for a Viking.
“All of the middles are getting involved more offensively and doing a better job of executing blocks,” Seemann said.
The final two matches of the game ended in similar fashion at 25–18 and 25–14, respectively. Leading the team for the first time in kills this year, Zeilke added 12 kills, three digs and three block-assists to her season totals while Whitney Phillips continued to impress with her team-leading fifth double-double.
PSU ended their road trip on a high note and now sit in third-place in the conference behind Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado, who remained undefeated and tied atop the Big Sky.
Looking ahead, the Vikings should be relieved to have their next game at home as they play host to Sacramento State on Saturday at 7 p.m. in front of the home crowd.