Photo Credit: Portland State Athletics PSU is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland State is headed to the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time in school history after defeating top-seeded Eastern Washington 3-1 on Saturday night in the Big Sky Conference Championship.

Set scores were 25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 25-21.

The Vikings (20-8) will learn their seeding for the tournament tomorrow during the NCAA selection show. It will air live on ESPNU at 7:00 p.m. PT.

Behind steady play from tournament MVP Nique Fradella and the hitting of Marija Vojnovic and Christie Hamilton, the second-seeded Viks won the Big Sky Tournament for the first time ever to send the mostly pro-Viking crowd in attendance at the Peter W. Stott Center into a celebration.

Fradella earned MVP honors after totalling 39 assists in the match and 73 assists in PSU's two matches at the tournament. Hamilton joined her on the all-tournament team as did teammate Tracy Vargas.

After the first three sets had a combined 31 tie scores and 15 lead changes, the Vikings controlled the final set.

PSU took a 1-0 lead on a kill by Vojnovic and then EWU tied it up on a kill by Hayley Hills. From there it was all Portland State.

The Vikings lead 16-10 on a kill by Jennifer Oney and took an eight point lead, their biggest of the entire match, at 20-12 on an attack error by the Eagles.

PSU had it at match point, 24-19, after another Eagles attacking error, but Eastern Washington scored back-to-back points to pull within three, 24-21. Erica Jepsen then slammed home a kill for PSU and the Viks celebrated on their home court in front of 1,109 fans.

"I'm speechless," Vikings Head Coach Michael Seemann said following the match. "I'm just overwhelmed right now. I try to stay level headed during matches and so it didn't really hit me until I saw the girls celebrating.

"I'm just awe struck. I'm totally impressed with our girls and it was a total team effort tonight."

The opening set went and back and forth, featuring 13 tie scores and five lead changes.

Portland State held an early 7-3 lead after a kill by Hamilton. The Eagles answered back, though, with a 5-1 run to tie it up at 8-8.

The teams traded the next 14 points to leave the score at 15-15, but an attack error by Chelsea Ross and a kill by Vojnovic put the Viks up by two. Eastern Washington then got three straight kills by Ross and another by Hayley Hills to to jump back in front 19-17.

A kill by Hamilton started a 3-0 Viking run as they scored eight of the final 11 points to claim set one.

Set two started out just as close as the opening stanza, with six tie scores and three lead changes all coming within the first 14 points. With the score knotted at 7-7, PSU went on a 9-3 run to take control.

Allison Reinstein threw down a kill for EWU to stop the Viks momentum and the Eagles scored two more points to pull within three at 16-13. They wouldn't get any closer, though, as Portland State scored five straight points on a kill by Erica Jepsen and four attack errors by the Eagles.

The third set was just as close as the first two, with 12 more tie scores and six lead changes.

Eastern Washington broke free from an 18-18 tie on a kill by Alysha Cook and didn't look back, scoring four straight points and seven of the final 10 to pick up the 25-21 win.

"I've never been so excited in my life," said Fradella. "I could feel the blood running through my veins. I'm really proud of all of of my teammates. Everyone stepped up tonight."

The win was especially sweet for PSU after they had lost both matches to Eastern Washington during the regular season, including getting swept at home by the Eagles on Nov. 15.

Portland State lost its next match at Sacramento State to close out the regular season on a two-match losing streak and appeared to be on a downswing heading into the tournament. But according to both Fradella and Seemann, the losses were a much-needed wake up call.

"Those last couple of losses really woke us up and I think we needed it," said Seemann.

"The girls really worked hard the past seven or eight days in practice. I think we realized that we needed to change things up in our training and with our attitude. And because of that we got a lot out of last week."

Portland State ended up hitting .165 in the match and was led by Vojnovic's 14 kills. Hamilton added 10 more and hit .381, while Jalen Pendon-Thomas had 17 digs.

Vojnovic also chipped in 16 digs for her 13th double-double of the season and Diana Villalpando finished with 11 digs.

Vargas led all players with eight total blocks, including two solos. Fradella and Jepsen each had seven more as the Vikings totalled 17 team blocks, their second-highest output of the year.

Hill led the Eagles with 16 kills, including seven in the final set, but also had 18 attack errors and hit for a negative percentage (-.033). The Big Sky MVP also had 15 digs.

Ross tallied 12 kills, Ashley Hamilton had 42 assists, and Mandy Daniels led all players with 29 digs.

Eastern Washington wound up with a .083 hitting percentage, but outdug the Viks 82-74.

The Vikings also picked up their 20th win of the season, making it the fourth straight 20-win season for the program.

MATCH NOTES: The Vikings advanced to the conference tournament title match for the second straight year. They lost to host Sacramento State in last season's final ... Oney chipped in nine kills for the Viks ... The 1,109 fans in attendance was a season-high at the Stott Center ... Hills and Daniels were named to the all-tournament team. Northern Colorado's Breanna Vandermost and Allison Raguse were the other two members.