The Portland State women’s volleyball team had their eyes on the prize Saturday night as they beat Dam Cup rival Eastern Washington in three sets. The sweep earned Portland State two more points in the race for the Dam Cup, and moved the Vikings into a third place tie in the Big Sky standings with Idaho State with a record of 9-11 overall and 5-3 conference.
The Vikings were swept by Sacramento State the weekend prior, but the team worked hard on making adjustments in practice this week and it paid off. Portland State outplayed the Eagles in nearly every category, including hitting for a .333 percentage, the team’s second highest output of the year. The Vikings also outblocked the Eagles 9-3—a crucial factor in stopping Eastern’s fast-paced offense.
“We were really steady and consistent throughout the entire match,” sophomore setter Garyn Schlatter said after the game. “That was a really big factor that contributed to the win.”
“I felt like our defense and coverage on our attackers allowed us to hit aggressively and without fear of errors… [which] directly contributed to a very efficient offense,” head coach Michael Seemann said.
The high accuracy and strong blocking allowed the Vikings to take charge early and hold the momentum. In the opening set, the Vikings took an early 10-3 lead. Eastern closed the gap to four points twice, but could never capture the lead and dropped the opening set 25-15.
Throughout the match, Portland State was able to focus on Eastern’s biggest hitters, Shelby Puckett and Cora Kellerman. With both players held to single digit attacks, the Vikings were able to effectively contain the Eagle’s explosive offense.
The second and third sets looked much like the opening frame with the Vikings controlling the tempo and stringing together big runs. Portland State only allowed Eastern Washington to lead during the opening of the second set, but a kill by junior outside hitter Megan Ellis sparked a 6-2 run for the home team. From there, the Vikings kept the lead for the rest of the set for a 25-16 win.
Portland State dominated the game statistically, putting up more kills (45-32) and assists (43-29) than Eastern Washington. The Vikings also used their serving to control the pace, as the team had one service ace compared to zero for Eastern.
“We did a lot better job of serving tough,” Schlatter said. “We were getting the other team out of system more efficiently.”
The home team kept the energy alive in the final set; even when the Eagles got within four points at 21-17, the Vikings still managed to regain control. They finished out the match on a four-point run including two kills from sophomore outside hitter Aubrey Mitchell.
The performances of the starting outside hitters Ellis and Mitchell were notable—with Ellis claiming the match high kills at 14 and Mitchell grabbing eight—but against Eastern a new face, freshman Tineke Bierma, was a standout in the hitter’s position.
“Tineke had the second highest attempts and then Megan [Ellis] had the highest with 31 attempts and they combined for only two errors each,” Seemann said. “They kept us in plays and they got Eastern out of system quite a bit, allowing our blocking to be well formed.”
Five Portland State players boasted above a .300 hitting percentage compared to just one for the Eagles. The Vikings had two players with double-doubles. Ellis led the Vikings with 14 kills and also had 11 digs, while junior setter Domi Kristinikova grabbed a double-double with 10 assists and 10 digs.
The Vikings are back in action Friday at 7 p.m. as they take on Weber State on the road.