The Portland State women’s volleyball team will look to continue their winning ways as they travel out of the comfort of the Stott Center to face the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds on Thursday and the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks on Saturday. The top-ranked Vikings (17-8, 13-1) have already clinched their playoff spot and have just three more weekends of play before the completion of the regular season.
Jinyi qi/VANGUARD STAFF
Vikings Volleyball is 17–8.
Portland had more aces than both Southern Utah and Northern Arizona when they faced off at the Stott Center back in September, but they have struggled recently on serve. The Vikings will try to regain their momentum in this week’s matchups.
At 9-17 overall and 5-9 in conference, Southern Utah sits on the cusp of playoff eligibility. The Thunderbirds are currently in eighth place in the Big Sky Conference, with the top six teams moving on to postseason play. The squad is on a three-game skid after losses to California State University, Sacramento, non-conference competitor California State University, Bakersfield and Northern Arizona.
From there, the Vikings will continue on to a showdown with the Lumberjacks. Northern Arizona is third in the standings at 19-4 overall and 11-3 in conference. They battled back from a tough five-set loss at Sacramento State on Saturday to shut out Southern Utah 3-0 upon their return home on Monday night.
The Vikings are coming off of home wins against Montana State University and the University of Montana last week. The Montana schools gave them a run for their money, forcing both matches to four sets and bringing out a newfound scrappiness in the Portland State squad.
For head coach Michael Seemann, this weekend is all about one word—resilience. “It’s going to be a long road trip,” he said. “They’re not going to lay down and give you the win.”
The Vikings have proven all season that they are more than ready for the challenge.