The Portland State volleyball team saw their dreams of an NCAA appearance fade quickly on Friday evening, as the University of Northern Colorado rolled to a shutout victory over the top-ranked Vikings in the Big Sky tournament.
The Vikings volleyball team followed up their impressive sweep of Weber State University on Thursday with an even better encore, beating Idaho State University 3-1 on Saturday to clinch the 2012 Big Sky regular season championship. In front of the second-largest crowd at the Stott Center all season, the Vikings fought past an injury to junior outside hitter Jaklyn Wheeler and a second-set loss to take a dramatic four-set victory on Senior Night.
PSU’s women’s basketball head coach Sherri Murrell knew that, out of all of the keys to the game against a fast and aggressive University of Oregon squad, the most important would be the Vikings’ ability to simply outlast their tireless opponents.
Six minutes into the first quarter of their matchup with Montana State University, Portland State tailback DJ Adams broke free and raced 69 yards for a touchdown to cut the Bobcat lead to 10-7.
Portland State fell to the University of Oregon in Eugene on Monday night, after eight turnovers in the first four minutes paved the way for a 32-12 lead for the Ducks early in the first half. The slow start was just too much for the Vikings to overcome.
With a tremendous team effort on both ends of the floor, the Portland State women’s basketball team kicked off their regular season with a 55-35 win over non-conference competitor George Fox University.
In the Portland State Kickboxing Club, students bring an assortment of martial arts disciplines together as they build confidence and learn self-defense. The group focuses mainly on muay thai and boxing but also works in aspects of capoeira, tae kwon do, kung fu and krav maga.
With only one weekend left in regular season play, Portland State volleyball is now one game behind new conference leader Idaho State University. The Vikings slipped from their first-place position following a shutout loss to the University of North Dakota on Thursday, then got back to their winning ways on Saturday as they took out the University of Northern Colorado in five grueling sets.
Through nearly three quarters of play on Saturday, Portland State did everything right in their Big Sky showdown against the University of Northern Colorado. DJ Adams scored his second rushing touchdown of the game to extend the Viking lead to 28-10. Kieran McDonagh shook off nagging injuries and an early interception to lead four scoring drives. The oft-maligned Viking defense stuffed UNC’s run game and forced quarterback Seth Lobato to try and win with his arm.
Nothing came easy for the Portland State volleyball team this weekend. After battling with Southern Utah University on Thursday to earn a five-set victory, the Vikings saw their six-match winning streak come to an end on Saturday against Northern Arizona University.
A strong defensive effort in the second half was exactly the spark that Portland State football needed to shake off a slow start and trounce the University of California, Davis 49-21 on Saturday. Senior linebacker Ian Sluss was the centerpiece of the effort, singlehandedly ending four Aggie drives in the fourth quarter and finishing the game with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.