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.
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.
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Tough road: The Vikings searched for consistency against Southern Utah and Northern Arizona.
With the loss, the team fell into a tie for first place in the conference with Idaho State University. The Vikings have two more weekends of regular season matches to fight it out for the Big Sky title.
“Thursday was a new experience for all of us,” junior outside hitter Aubrey Mitchell said. “We’ve never been there or played there, so being able to go into a new gym [against] a team who is a really good home team was good for us. It was challenging, and we pulled out a win in the end.”
The match featured a strong individual performance by Mitchell, who finished with 15 kills, but the Vikings struggled early on to gain their footing. The Thunderbirds held PSU to a negative hitting percentage in the first set to win it 25-12, the lowest point total for the Vikings in a set all season. They bounced back to win the second and third sets, then saw the Thunderbirds rally to win the fourth 25-21.
The fifth set, however, showcased the Vikings team that PSU fans have come to know this season. The squad came out hitting and blocking well and won the final set by a score of 15-6.
In a statement, head coach Michael Seemann acknowledged his team’s struggles. “It’s tough to win on the road,” he said. “To open this road trip with a win is great, especially when we weren’t playing our best.”
While Thursday proved that the Vikings could shake off a difficult start to take control of the match, Saturday was an entirely different story. PSU split the opening two frames with Northern Arizona, but it was the Lumberjacks who finished strong, winning sets three and four to claim the victory. Even with the help of senior outside hitter Megan Ellis’ 16th double-double of the year, the Vikings were unable to get into a rhythm.
“Saturday was hard because the combination of such a long travel week and going into a [team’s] home gym was not easy, and they were ready to play us,” Mitchell said after the match. “They prepared very well for us.”
PSU managed to come out hot in the fourth to try and build a comeback, keeping the score close until 12-all, but Northern Arizona responded with a 13-4 run to win the set and come away with the win.
“NAU played well tonight at home,” Seemann said. “We did not execute our offense tonight. We simply need to improve every time we walk into our gym to train. We need to grow and evolve to put ourselves in a position to win matches.”
The Vikings go on the road again this weekend to face the University of North Dakota and the University of Northern Colorado.
