Vikings Fend-off Four Match Points in Reverse Sweep Win

Thursday, October 19

Portland, OR

8 p.m. (MT)

Montana State University

13-5,6-2Big Sky

Portland State

11-8,4-4Big Sky

Montana St.

Portland St.

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

10/20/2023 12:01:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

“We’re disappointed with the loss, and especially disappointed because they were controllable pieces,” Houk said.

By: Tom Schulz

Portland State held off four match points in the fourth set and used its momentum to reverse sweep Montana State 24-26, 18-25, 25-22, 30-28, 15-11 on Thursday night in Viking Pavilion.

After a slow opening set Montana State's (13-5, 6-2) offense, which sputtered in its two matches last week, came to life. The Bobcats used a 14-7 run at the midway mark of the frame to stake a 23-22 lead. Tied at 24-all, MSU closed out the set on back-to-back kills from Madilyn Siebler and Jourdain Kamps.

The MSU offense flexed its muscle in the second stanza, outhitting Portland State (11-8, 4-4) .321 to .081 to take a 2-0 advantage.

"I thought we performed quite well over a big chunk of the match," said MSU head coach Matt Houk. "We applied the things we worked on this week in practice, and it was great to see that out on the court. Our block got into good spots, and we were assertive at the point of contact."

Montana State out-blocked PSU 10-1 in the first two sets.

Set three featured nine ties and two lead changes. Tied at 20-all, the Vikings rattled off two points before taking a 23-21 lead following a MSU service error. The Vikings won the set off a Bobcat hitting miscue.

Portland State used its new-found energy to take an early 12-8 advantage in the fourth frame before the Bobcats responded with a 6-2 run to even the contest at 14-all. The two squads battled down the stretch with neither team taking more than a two-point advantage. MSU held match points at 24-23, 25-24, 27-26 and 28-27, before PSU closed out the set on back-to-back kills from Lauryn Anderson.

In the fifth and deciding set, Portland State jumped out to a 9-4 lead before Montana State went on a 5-2 run, closing within 11-9. Two consecutive points from PSU put the match out of reach as Kendra Duffey put the exclamation point on the Viking victory.

"We're disappointed with the loss, and especially disappointed because they were controllable pieces," Houk said. "We served the ball out at too high of a rate, and our hitting errors came at unfortunate times."

MSU was led by senior Kira Thomsen who posted 21 kills, 15 digs, two service aces and two blocks, while recording a .259 attack mark. Also in double-digit kills were Kamps and Siebler with 15 kills apiece. Siebler, an outside hitter from Omaha, Neb., also registered a .282 attack mark and five blocks. Kamps and middle blocker Camryn Greenwald each tallied eight blocks, while Jordan Radick chipped in seven. Lauren Lindseth guided MSU in the back row with a team-high 19 digs.

"The next step for us is to learn and apply it consistently over a longer period of time," Houk said. "And that can be uncomfortable. We can't revert to being comfortable. Being comfortable isn't good enough to get the results we want. We need to create long term habits, but in the short term, it's hard."

MSU plays at Sacramento State on Saturday at 2 p.m. (MT). The Hornets sit atop the Big Sky standings at 7-1, while the Bobcats and Weber State are one game back at 6-2.