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POCATELLO, Idaho – The Portland State volleyball team's season came to an end Thursday afternoon as the Vikings fell in straight sets in the first round of the 2014 Big Sky Volleyball Tournament to the Northern Colorado Bears.
Northern Colorado took the match by scores of 25-22, 25-15, and 25-22.
Senior OH
Cheyne Corrado posted a team-high eight kills for the Vikings. She also added a match-high 15 digs. Senior L Kasimira "Kasi" Clark added 12 digs.
The Vikings (9-20 overall) were strong at the net against the Bears (20-9). Portland State tallied 10.0 total blocks led by freshman MB
Sarah Liva's five. Liva posted three solo blocks along with a pair of blocking assists. The three solo blocks were the most by a Viking this season. Senior OH
Leigh-Ann Haataja added three blocks (1-2).
Portland State fell behind 6-1 early in the first set. Freshman S
Erin Clark cut the deficit to two at 7-5 with her first ace of the match. Haataja tallied back-to-back kills and the set was tied at 7-7.
Erin Clark's second ace gave the Vikings their first lead at 8-7. A kill from freshman OH
Lauren Nicholson and an attacking error by Northern Colorado put the Vikings up 10-7 after an 8-0 run.
The Bears came back and scored eight of the next nine points to go up 15-11 midway through the first. The Vikings pulled within one at 18-17 on back-to-back blocks from Liva. A solo block from Nicholson later in the set again pulled PSU within one at 20-19. The Vikings fought off a pair of set points but the Bears took the first set 25-22.
Seven Vikings recorded kills in the first set led by Corrado and Haataja's three each. Kasi Clark got in on the action with a rare kill, her fourth of the season.
Portland State got out to an early 3-0 lead in the second set before Northern Colorado tied it at 4-4. PSU was up 8-6 before a 4-0 run gave the Bears the lead at 10-8. They extended their lead over the rest of the set and took it 25-15 to go up 2-0 in the match.
The third set remained close throughout with seven score ties and a pair of lead changes. The difference was late in the set. With the score tied at 19-19, Northern Colorado was able to score two straight to go up 21-19. Portland State pulled within one at 22-21 but Northern Colorado scored three of the next four points to close out the match with a 25-22 win in the third.
Northern Colorado's Andrea Spaustat tallied a match-high 10 kills and hit .500 for the match. The Bears out-hit the Vikings .175-to-.050.
The match was the last for five Portland State seniors. Kasi Clark,
Anna DeMots,
Katie O'Brien, Corrado, and Haataja all played four years for the Vikings and left a lasting impact on the program. Kasi Clark finished her career as the Vikings' all-time leader in career digs while O'Brien and Haataja finished fifth and sixth respectively in all-time career blocks.
NOTES: Seven Vikings had kills in the first set including libero Kasimira "Kasi" Clark …
Sarah Liva's three solo blocks were the most by a Viking this season … Portland State was eliminated in the Big Sky Tournament by Northern Colorado for the second time in three years.
