http://goviks.com/news/2010/11/19/WVB_1119102509.aspx
PORTLAND, Ore. – Senior night didn't exactly start off the way Christie Hamilton envisioned it would.
In her final home match – and also the final one for three other seniors – Hamilton and the Portland State volleyball team found themselves trailing visiting Sacramento State after one set.
The night ended well, though, as the Vikings took the final three sets (20-25, 25-22, 25-11, 25-15) to capture their second straight Big Sky Conference regular season title and their third in the past four years.
"I think everyone was just so focused on thinking we had to win this match to get first place. So we were playing tight and I think we had to take that first set to get all of the nerves out. And I think in the second set even we took awhile to calm down," said Hamilton. "But after the break we took a couple of deep breaths, relaxed and played much smoother."
A back-and-forth opening frame eventually went to the Hornets, who broke free of a 18-all tie by scoring seven of the final nine points. Portland State didn't help its cause during Sac State's mini-run, committing three attack errors, a service error and giving up another point on a bad set.
The Vikings didn't let their collapse in set one affect them heading over to the next stanza. After the score was knotted up at 8-8, Portland State took control. A kill by Megan Ellis and a bad swing by Sac State put the Viks up by two, and later they scored six straight points for an 18-11 advantage. PSU had to weather a late comeback by the Hornets, who got to within three, 23-20. Ellis gave the Viks their 24th point will a kill and Zielke eventually closed it out by hammering home one from the middle.
Portland State came out of the break on fire. After an early 2-2 tie, they never trailed the rest of the match. Up 16-11 in set three, the Vikings scored the final nine points to easily take the frame. They carried the momentum into set four, scoring the first three points on kills by Hamilton and fellow senior Whitney Phillips, and a Sac State attack error.
"It feels amazing," Hamilton said of winning another championship. "It was one of our goals. Our second goal is to win the conference tournament and go to the NCAAs, so to have one of our goals accomplished is great. It was awesome to win here at home in front of our families, especially for us seniors."
All four of the Viking seniors played key roles in the victory. Phillips led all players with 21 kills and added 18 digs, Diana Villalpando set a new career-high with 29 digs, and Hamilton finished with 10 kills, a .409 attack percentage and five total blocks. Lana Zielke, the fourth senior, tallied nine kills and hit .368.
Portland State upped its record to 19-8, 14-2 in the Big Sky, which ties a school record for their most conference wins. It was their seventh straight victory and their 16th straight Big Sky home win dating back to last year.
Sac State fell to 15-16, 8-7 Big Sky. Janelle Curry paced the Hornets with 14 kills and added 15 digs.
The Vikings now host the four-team Big Sky tournament, Nov. 26-27. They enter as the top seed and will play at 7:30 p.m., Friday, against a to-be-determined fourth seed.
NOTES: PSU had five players finish with at least 10 digs for the first time since Nov. 17, 2008, which also was against the Hornets at the Stott Center. Megan Ellis had 18, while Garyn Schlatter and Dominika Kristinikova both registered 16 ... Ellis also added in 12 kills ... the Vikings need one more victory for their sixth straight 20-win season ... PSU had eight service aces ... for the Hornets, Breanne Menees dug 26 balls and Olivia Moss tallied nine blocks.
