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PORTLAND, Ore. – The Sacramento State Hornets played the part of the spoiler Saturday at the Peter W. Stott Center and edged the Portland State Vikings in five sets on a day that saw Kasimira "Kasi" Clark become the Vikings' all-time leader in career digs.
 
The Hornets (7-20 overall, 2-10 Big Sky Conference) took the match by scores of 25-20, 23-25, 17-25, 25-21, and 16-14.
 
Kasi Clark needed just two digs in the match to tie Eavi Shovlin's (1994-97) career mark of 1,742. It did not take long for her to get that and more as she posted six digs in the first set. Kasi Clark posted a team-high 28 digs in the match to give her 1,768 digs for her career. Kasi Clark now holds the all-time career digs mark and the single-season digs mark after posting 635 in 2012.
 
The Vikings (7-17, 5-7) tallied 98 digs in the match, second most this season, led by Kasi Clark's 28. Freshman outside hitter Roni LaPierre added a career-high 21 digs and 10 kills for her second straight double-double, fifth overall. It was the first time this season that the Vikings had two players with 20-plus digs.
 
Senior outside hitter Leigh-Ann Haataja posted a career-high 19 kills on a career-high 44 attacks with just two errors. Haataja came up big time after time in the match getting the kill when the Vikings needed it. Lauren Nicholson added a career-high 12 kills and eight digs.
 
The Vikings led early in the first by three at 7-4 before the Hornets came back to take the lead at 11-9. After the Vikings tied it at 12-12, Sacramento State went on a 4-0 run to go up 16-12. Katie O'Brien teamed up with LaPierre and then Emani Jackson on back-to-back blocks to cut the lead to two at 16-14. O'Brien finished the match with nine kills and a team-high seven blocks.
 
After the teams traded points to 19-17, the Hornets went on another 4-0 run to go up 22-17, which forced Portland State to call a timeout. After another Sacramento State point, Haataja ended the run with a cross-court kill. Kasi Clark followed with an ace to cut the lead to 23-19. Haataja added another kill late, but the Hornets took the first set 25-20.
 
The Vikings fell behind in the second set before taking the lead at 7-6 following a Sacramento State attacking error. The teams traded points before the Vikings took a two-point lead at 10-8 after a long rally. The teams traded points back and forth until O'Brien got a quick kill on an over ball to give the Vikings a three-point lead at 15-12. Neither team could put together a run as they traded points to 18-15 after a kill from Haataja, which forced the Hornets to call a timeout.
 
Two straight points by Sacramento State following the timeout cut the Vikings' lead to one point at 18-17. The Hornets came back and tied it at 19-19 before another kill from Haataja put the Vikings up 20-19. An attacking error by Sacramento State and the Vikings led 21-19. After a PSU service error, two straight points by the Vikings, capped by a quick kill from Erin Clark, gave them a three-point lead at 23-20. Erin Clark finished with 42 assists and 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the year.
 
Two quick points by Sacramento State cut the lead to one point at 23-22. After a PSU timeout, Sacramento State served it into the net to give the Vikings set point at 24-22. The Hornets cut it to one before a kill from Nicholson gave the Vikings the set at 25-23 to even the match at 1-1.
 
The Vikings came out swinging in the third set and got out to a 4-0 lead. The Hornets started to come back but a block from O'Brien and LaPierre maintained the Vikings' four-point lead at 7-3 and forced Sacramento State to call its first timeout. Two straight by the Vikings following the timeout increased their lead to 9-3, the largest lead by either team in the match to that point. Sacramento State fought back to cut the lead to two points at 9-7 after a pair of service aces.
 
After the teams traded points, Sacramento State pulled within one at 14-13 before a kill from freshman middle blocker Sarah Liva and a block from Liva and Haataja put the Vikings up 16-13. Haataja added another kill and then teamed up with Liva again for a block to put PSU up five at 18-13. The teams traded points to 20-15 before an ace from Haataja and another block put the Vikings up 22-15. After trading points, Nicholson once again came through with the set winner at 25-17.
 
It stayed close through the early stages of the fourth set before a block from O'Brien and Erin Clark followed by an O'Brien ace gave the Vikings the lead at 8-7. After three straight points from Sacramento State, Nicholson pulled the Vikings within one at 10-9 on a nice chip shot to the center of the court.
 
Sacramento State inserted Shannon Boyle into the match to start the fourth set and the freshman outside hitter from Ridgefield, Wash. gave the Hornets a spark. Boyle helped Sacramento State to a 14-9 lead before the Vikings scored three straight to cut the lead to two points at 14-12. A service ace from freshman defensive specialist Tasha Bojanic pulled PSU to within one at 14-13.
 
After two straight by Sacramento State, a kill from Liva and an attacking error from Boyle pulled PSU again within one at 16-15. The Hornets scored four of the next six points to go up 20-17, which forced Portland State to call a timeout.
 
After falling behind 22-19, the Vikings scored two straight to bring the score to 22-21. Sacramento State countered with three straight to take the seconds set 25-21 and even the match at 2-2. Sacramento State's Boyle had five kills and three digs in the fourth.
 
Two straight kills from LaPierre and a kill from O'Brien put the Vikings up 5-2 early in the fifth. The teams traded points before a block from O'Brien and Erin Clark put the Vikings up 7-4. After two straight by Sacramento State, a kill from Nicholson put the Vikings up 8-6 as the teams traded sides of the net.
 
Three out of four by the Hornets tied the fifth at 9-9. They took their first lead of the set at 10-9 after a kill. Haataja came up big to tie the set at 10-10 with her 18th kill of the match. A Sacramento State attacking error put the Vikings up again at 11-10. A tip at the net by O'Brien gave the Vikings a two-point lead at 12-10, which forced a Sacramento State timeout. Kasi Clark came up with a huge service ace to put PSU up three at 13-10. Four straight by the Hornets gave them match point at 14-13.
 
Haataja's 19th kill of the match evened it 14-14 before two straight by Sacramento State gave the Hornets the 16-14 win in the fifth and the 3-2 match win.
 
Sacramento State's Morgan Stanley posted a double-double with a match-high 24 kills along with 18 digs. Lexie Skalbeck tallied a match-high 31 digs.
 
Portland State will hit the road next week for its final road trip of the regular season when it travels to Idaho State (11/6) and Weber State (11/8).
 
NOTES: Cheyne Corrado missed her second straight match due to injury … With six digs in the first set first set Kasimira "Kasi" Clark became the all-time career leader in digs … Roni LaPierre posted a career-high 21 digs … Roni LaPierre Posted her fifth double-double, second straight, with 10 kills and 21 digs … Erin Clark posted her fifth double-double with 42 assists and 13 digs … Portland State had two players with 20-plus digs for the first time this season.