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PORTLAND – The Vikings kept pace with the Lumberjacks through much of the match but came up short late, falling in four sets Thursday night at the Peter W. Stott Center. It was both team's Big Sky Conference opener.
 
Northern Arizona took the match by scores of 25-21, 24-26, 25-20, and 25-17 to improve to 11-3 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Portland State fell to 4-9 and 0-1.
 
Portland State had three players with double-figure kills for the third time this season. Junior OH Pati Anae led the Vikings with 13 kills while adding 11 digs for her team-best fifth double-double.
 
Freshman OH Eva Linden picked up her second career double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs while freshman MB Katy Wilson tallied a career-high 10 kills.
 
Portland State kept the score close through much of the opening set and trailed 21-19. Northern Arizona was able to put together a couple small runs and took the set, 25-21, to go up 1-0 in the match.
 
The Vikings evened things in the second with a dramatic 26-24 win. The second set was the closes and most hardly fought set of the match with nine ties and three lead changes.
 
Northern Arizona was able to stave off set point at 24-23 and tie it at 24-24 with a kill. Portland State got the point right back with an NAU service error before Linden sealed the set win with a kill.
 
Portland State tallied seven blocks in the second set alone with Wilson, Liva, and Linden combining on three each. The Vikings matched their team season high with 13 blocks.
 
The third set was tied late at 18-18 but the Lunberjacks closed it out with a 7-2 run to go up 2-1 in the match.
 
Northern Arizona closed out the match with a 25-17 win in the fourth set to take the match 3-1. Janae Vander Ploeg entered the match as the league leader in kills with 4.46 kills per set. She tallied a match-high 19 kills.
 
Portland State returns home Saturday for a 7 p.m. PT match with Southern Utah Thunderbirds. The Vikings' football team takes on Western Oregon at 2:05 p.m. at Providence Park in the first half of a Portland State doubleheader. Anyone with a football ticket stub will receive free admittance to the volleyball match against Southern Utah.
 
NOTES: Portland State had three players with double-digit kills for the third time this season … Pati Anae recorded her fifth double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs … Eva Linden recorded her second double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs … Katy Wilson recorded a career-high 10 kill … Hadley Heck made her first career start … Portland State had three players with five or more blocks.