Vikings flex muscles against Portage volleyball team

PORTAGE | Coming off a tough four-game loss to Times No. 1 LaPorte on Tuesday night, No. 2 Valparaiso wanted to make a statement Thursday night.

The Vikings survived a gritty Portage squad on the road and pulled out a 25-20, 27-29, 25-9, 25-14 victory to improve to 19-5 overall and 7-2 in the Duneland Athletic Conference.

Brigid Scannell led the Vikings with 15 kills and two blocks to go along with four aces.

"It's really important that we treat every opponent like they are LaPorte," Scannell said. "We know that every match can be tough, and we can't let up against anybody."

According to Valparaiso coach Katie Lenard, the Vikings did exactly that Thursday as Portage evened the match at one game each after an emotional 29-27 win in the second game.

"I didn't feel like we played very well in the first and second games," Lenard said. "We weren't very focused, and we weren't making our normal passes."

Scannell and her teammates left little doubt in the third game as the Vikings raced out to a 16-4 lead and finished off the Indians 25-9 before clinching the match with a 25-14 victory in the fourth game.

"We were really mad," Scannell said. "We weren't mad at each other, but we were frustrated, and we wanted to come out in that third game and go after Portage. We wanted to beat them."

Carrie Clark had 14 kills, and Jordan Snapp had 11 kills for the Vikings, while Kate Workman added 18 digs and three aces.

"I was very pleased that we came out in the third game extremely strong," Lenard said. "I'm very proud of the way the team responded. Our defense was lacking in the first two games, our blocking especially. We talked about that in between the second and third games."

Alicia Ciesielski led the Indians (7-11, 2-7) with nine kills, while Haley Snyder added six kills and two aces. Tina Golden had 10 assists, three digs and two aces.