http://goviks.com/news/2010/11/6/WVB_1106105407.aspx
CHENEY, Wash. – Needing a win to stay in contention for the Big Sky Conference title, Portland State rallied from two sets down to knock off host Eastern Washington, 3-2, on Saturday night.
The Vikings played miserably through the first two sets, losing 28-26, 25-17, and hitting just .150. But a change in strategy during intermission helped PSU win the final three sets, 25-19, 25-15, 15-7.
Portland State Head Coach Michael Seemann challenged his team during the break and made a key defensive change after the Eagles left side hitters were having their way in the early going.
"I told them we needed a change in how we approach the game and it needed to happen now," Seemann said in reference to his speech between the second and third sets. "I told them as a unit that they needed to come out and scramble, to fight, to compete, and they as a group made the choice to do that. They came out in that third set and said 'win or lose, we are going to battle,' and that's exactly what they did."
Through the first two frames, EWU left side hitters Jacque Brown and Ashley Wright had combined for 13 of the Eagles' 30 kills. Eastern Washington also was dominating at the net, outblocking the Viks 7.5-2.0 at that point.
"I felt like we didn't block well at all the first two sets," said Seemann. "We made a change in the third set and put Christie (Hamilton) in the middle and she, along with Whitney (Phillips) and Megan (Ellis), did a fantastic job of closing in on their lefties. We got a lot of points through blocking that way. We forced them to change their offensive look, because until then, they had gotten most of their production from their lefties."
The change wasn't immediate, though, as PSU found itself down 15-10 midway through the third stanza. But a kill by Aubrey Mitchell from the left pin started the comeback and the Vikings eventually tied it up at 19-all. In fact, Eastern Washington held a 19-16 lead, only to watch as PSU scored the final nine points.
In the fifth and deciding set, Portland State broke away from a 6-6 tie by dominating over the last half, closing on a 9-1 run.
"We competed as a team tonight and it feels like it's been awhile since we have done that," said Seemann." We fought and battled in someone else's gym and we earned the victory. I can't be more proud of how we fought back."
After having Eastern Washington own the nets in the first two sets, Portland State bounced back to outblock the Eagles, 15.0-13.5. The 15 blocks were a season-high and Hamilton led the way with a match-high and season-best eight.
Ellis set a new career-high in blocks with seven, while Phillips matched hers with four. Both tallied double-doubles as Ellis registered 14 kills and 14 digs, and Phillips tallied 16 kills and a career-best 22 digs.
PSU also received outstanding play from Lana Zielke and Diana Villalpando. Zielke recorded 13 kills, five blocks and a .458 hitting percentage, while Villalpando's 27 digs were a career-high and the most by a Viking in over a year.
The Vikings improved to 16-8, 11-2 Big Sky, with their second straight win in Cheney. Last year, PSU picked up its first-ever Big Sky win at EWU, and is now 2-13 all-time in conference matches at Reese Court.
Portland State, which is one game back of first-place Northern Colorado (12-1), plays at Northern Arizona next Thursday at 6 p.m. PT. They then head to UNC for a Saturday contest at 6 p.m. PT.
NOTES: The last time Portland State rallied from two sets down to win was on Nov. 23, 2007, against Weber State in the Big Sky tournament ... PSU's two setters also played well. Garyn Schlatter had 31 assists and 11 digs, and Dominika Kristinikova dished out 18 assists and dug eight balls ... PSU hit .189, EWU .117 ... the Vikings have won 12 of their past 14 ... PSU has won five-straight against EWU ... Wright led the Eagles with 13 kills while also adding 10 digs ... just like Portland State, the Eagles also had three players finish with double-doubles ... EWU fell to 7-16, 6-7 Big Sky ... live stats and Big Sky TV were not available due to EWU's campuswide server being down for repairs.
CHENEY, Wash. – Needing a win to stay in contention for the Big Sky Conference title, Portland State rallied from two sets down to knock off host Eastern Washington, 3-2, on Saturday night.
The Vikings played miserably through the first two sets, losing 28-26, 25-17, and hitting just .150. But a change in strategy during intermission helped PSU win the final three sets, 25-19, 25-15, 15-7.
Portland State Head Coach Michael Seemann challenged his team during the break and made a key defensive change after the Eagles left side hitters were having their way in the early going.
"I told them we needed a change in how we approach the game and it needed to happen now," Seemann said in reference to his speech between the second and third sets. "I told them as a unit that they needed to come out and scramble, to fight, to compete, and they as a group made the choice to do that. They came out in that third set and said 'win or lose, we are going to battle,' and that's exactly what they did."
Through the first two frames, EWU left side hitters Jacque Brown and Ashley Wright had combined for 13 of the Eagles' 30 kills. Eastern Washington also was dominating at the net, outblocking the Viks 7.5-2.0 at that point.
"I felt like we didn't block well at all the first two sets," said Seemann. "We made a change in the third set and put Christie (Hamilton) in the middle and she, along with Whitney (Phillips) and Megan (Ellis), did a fantastic job of closing in on their lefties. We got a lot of points through blocking that way. We forced them to change their offensive look, because until then, they had gotten most of their production from their lefties."
The change wasn't immediate, though, as PSU found itself down 15-10 midway through the third stanza. But a kill by Aubrey Mitchell from the left pin started the comeback and the Vikings eventually tied it up at 19-all. In fact, Eastern Washington held a 19-16 lead, only to watch as PSU scored the final nine points.
In the fifth and deciding set, Portland State broke away from a 6-6 tie by dominating over the last half, closing on a 9-1 run.
"We competed as a team tonight and it feels like it's been awhile since we have done that," said Seemann." We fought and battled in someone else's gym and we earned the victory. I can't be more proud of how we fought back."
After having Eastern Washington own the nets in the first two sets, Portland State bounced back to outblock the Eagles, 15.0-13.5. The 15 blocks were a season-high and Hamilton led the way with a match-high and season-best eight.
Ellis set a new career-high in blocks with seven, while Phillips matched hers with four. Both tallied double-doubles as Ellis registered 14 kills and 14 digs, and Phillips tallied 16 kills and a career-best 22 digs.
PSU also received outstanding play from Lana Zielke and Diana Villalpando. Zielke recorded 13 kills, five blocks and a .458 hitting percentage, while Villalpando's 27 digs were a career-high and the most by a Viking in over a year.
The Vikings improved to 16-8, 11-2 Big Sky, with their second straight win in Cheney. Last year, PSU picked up its first-ever Big Sky win at EWU, and is now 2-13 all-time in conference matches at Reese Court.
Portland State, which is one game back of first-place Northern Colorado (12-1), plays at Northern Arizona next Thursday at 6 p.m. PT. They then head to UNC for a Saturday contest at 6 p.m. PT.
NOTES: The last time Portland State rallied from two sets down to win was on Nov. 23, 2007, against Weber State in the Big Sky tournament ... PSU's two setters also played well. Garyn Schlatter had 31 assists and 11 digs, and Dominika Kristinikova dished out 18 assists and dug eight balls ... PSU hit .189, EWU .117 ... the Vikings have won 12 of their past 14 ... PSU has won five-straight against EWU ... Wright led the Eagles with 13 kills while also adding 10 digs ... just like Portland State, the Eagles also had three players finish with double-doubles ... EWU fell to 7-16, 6-7 Big Sky ... live stats and Big Sky TV were not available due to EWU's campuswide server being down for repairs.
