PORTLAND – The Vikings suffered just their second loss in Big Sky Conference play Thursday night with a four-set loss to the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
 
Northern Arizona (7-11 overall, 3-4 Big Sky Conference) took the match by scores of 25-23, 20-25, 28-26, and 25-19. The Lumberjacks served the Vikings tough from the very start of the match. The 'Jacks recorded 12 service aces in the match, but did hit 12 service errors.
 
Portland State (14-5, 5-2) had four players in double-figure kills led by SO OH Caitlin Bettenay's team-high 15. She added nine digs and three blocks, including a solo block. She added one of the Vikings seven aces in the match.
 
FR OH Parker Webb tallied 11 kills in the match, along with three blocks. She also tallied five service aces, three coming in one service rotation early in the first set. JR MB Katy Wilson posted her fourth double-digit kill match of the season with 10 on 28 swings. She tallied three blocks in the match.
 
JR MB Mikaelyn Sych led the Vikings at the net with six total blocks, including a pair of solo stuffs. Portland State tallied 10.0 blocks for the match, their seventh double-digit block match of the year. SR S Erin Clark recorded her third straight double-double with 44 assists and 11 digs.
 
Northern Arizona took an early 8-2 lead before the Vikings came back to tie it at 8-8. Portland State extended its run to 11-1 to go up 13-9, which forced the Lumberjacks' second and final timeout of the frame. Twice Portland State went up by three points, and twice Northern Arizona came back to tie the set. PSU led 22-19 before NAU closed out the set with six of the final seven points, which included back-to-back blocks, to take it 25-23.
 
Each team served well in the opening frame with the Vikings recording five aces, four from Webb. The Lumberjacks tallied four. The big difference came was at the net. NAU recorded five blocks to just one by PSU.
 
Portland State got out to an early 6-2 lead in the second set. Northern Arizona cut the lead to 8-6 before the Vikings took four of the next five points, capped by a block from Bettenay and Wilson, to make it a 12-7. Bettenay gave the Vikings a 15-9 with a kill, which forced NAU to call a timeout.
 
PSU extended its lead to 18-11 before going up 24-17. NAU staved off three set points to make it 24-20, which forced the Vikings to call a timeout. Sych and Webb combined for the Vikings' fourth block of the frame to even the match at 1-1 with a 25-20 victory in the second.
 
Bettenay led the Vikings with five kills in the second while McDougald added four. Clark nearly tallied a double-double in the second set with 11 assists and seven digs. Sych led the team with three blocks (1-2) along with her first career service ace.
 
The third set was the most back-and-forth for the Vikings this season. The set saw 15 ties by the time the score went to 17-17. The Lumberjacks rattled off four-straight points to go up 21-17 before the Vikings countered with a kill from Wilson and back-to-back kills from Bettenay. After an NAU timeout, a block from Clark and Sych tied it at 21-21. After trading points to 23-23, McDougald gave the Vikings set point at 24-23.
 
The Vikings were unable to capitalize on their advantage. The teams traded points again to 26-26, the 21st tie of the frame, before an NAU kill gave the 'Jacks the 28-26 win in the third to go up two set to one.
 
The fourth frame played close as the teams battled through the middle stages of the set. With Portland State up 13-12, Northern Arizona went on a 4-0 run to take a 16-13 lead. Northern Arizona extended its lead to 23-17 on its 12th ace of the match. After trading points to 24-19, a kill by the Lumberjacks gave them the match 25-19.
 
Portland State closes out the first half of conference play this Saturday, Oct. 14 against Southern Utah at 2 p.m. PT.
 
NOTES

• FR OH Parker Webb tallied five aces, the most by a Viking this season.
• SR S Erin Clark recorded her ninth double-double with 44 assists and 11 digs.
• Portland State recorded its seventh double-digit block match of the season.
• Northern Arizona extended its winning streak to eight matches over Portland State.