SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Vikings suffered a tough loss, falling in five sets to the Sacramento State Hornets Saturday afternoon in Sacramento, Calif.
 
Portland State took the first two sets of the match 28-26 and 25-18 before Sacramento State took the next two sets 25-16 and 25-21 to force a decisive fifth set. The Hornets concluded their comeback with a 15-7 win in the fifth.
 
It was the Vikings' first five-set match of the season and their first loss after leading 2-0 since 2015.
 
With the win, Sacramento State improved to 22-8 overall and 13-1 in Big Sky Conference play. The win also secured the regular season title for the Hornets and they will now host the Big Sky Volleyball Championship in two weeks.
 
Portland State (19-7 overall, 10-4 Big Sky) finished with three players in double-digit kills, led by outside hitters Caitlin Bettenay and Sarah Brennan. Bettenay posted her eighth double-double of the year, second in as many matches, with 17 kills along with 11 digs. She was one of four players with double-digit digs.
 
Brennan earned the start for the Vikings and matched her career high with 17 kills. She hit .250 and assisted on three of PSU's 11.0 blocks for the match. It was Portland State's ninth double-digit block match of the season, second straight.
 
SR L Tasha Bojanic moved into fifth all-time at Portland State with 26 digs against the Hornets. She now has 1,519 digs for her career.
 
SR S Erin Clark moved into fifth all-time at Portland State with 50 assists Saturday, her third 50-assist match in the last four. She now has 3,167 assists over her four-year career. She added 11 digs for her team-best 12th double-double of the season.
 
Sacramento State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the opening set. The Hornets extended their lead to 15-5 after a 6-0 run. The Vikings started to chip away at the lead. Down 20-15, Portland State went on a 9-2 run of its own to tie the match and then take a 24-22 lead.
 
Sacramento State staved off two set points to tie it at 24-24. After a Bettenay kill, SAC took the next two points to go up 26-25. A service error tied the set again at 26-26. The Vikings came up big at the net with back-to-back blocks, capped off by a solo block from JR MB Katy Wilson to take the opening frame 28-26.
 
It was Portland State's turn to jump out to an early lead in the second set. The Vikings took an early four-point lead and maintained it throughout the rest of the frame. They extended their lead late before securing the 25-18 win in the second on another block from Wilson and Bettenay. Wilson finished the match with five kills and a team-high seven blocks (1-6).
 
The Vikings led the match 2-0 heading in to the intermission but thing started to turn in the third set. Sacramento State hit .407 in the third, while holding the Vikings to a .121 hitting mark en route to a 26-16 win.
 
Sacramento State, coming off its momentum built in the third, took an early lead in the fourth. The Hornets went on several runs to go up 18-9. Portland State went on a pair of runs of its own late in the frame to pull within one, 22-21, on a block by Wilson and Brennan.
 
A Portland State service error, followed by back-to-back aces by the Hornets, gave Sacramento State the 25-21 win in the fourth and push the match to a decisive fifth set.
 
Sacramento State took an early 6-2 lead in the fifth before extending the lead to 10-4. The Hornets took the fifth 15-7 to take the match 3-2.
 
Portland State has just two matches left in the regular season. The Vikings hit the road next week for a match at Weber State (Nov. 9) before concluding the regular season at Idaho State on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. PT.
 
The Vikings will then head to the Big Sky Volleyball Championship Nov. 16-18 hosted by Sacramento State.