PORTLAND – The Vikings picked up their second win of the year against the CSUN Matadors Friday afternoon as part of the Nike Invitational hosted by the University of Portland at the Chiles Center.
 
The Vikings improved to 8-3 overall on the season with the straight-set victory. They took the match by scores of 25-20, 26-24, and 25-19. The Matadors fell to 6-5 with the loss.
 
SO OH Caitlin Bettenay led the Vikings in kills for the eighth time this season with 13 against the Matadors. She hit .244 and tallied seven digs along with one of the team's seven service aces. Bettenay was a steady offensive threat for Portland State with four kills in each of the first two frames and five in the third.
 
SO OH Toni McDougald, who missed the first meeting against CSUN with an injury, has worked her way into the lineup over the past few weeks and is making her presence known. She posted her second-consecutive double-digit kill performance of the year with 11 kills Friday against CSUN. She hit .241 and came up with a trio of blocks.
 
SR DS/L Tasha Bojanic solidified the Vikings' defense once again with a match-high 17 digs. SR S Erin Clark added 33 assists and eight digs, while Bettenay, Haley Glass, and Ally Benedict each added seven digs in the match.
 
Down 9-8 early in the first set, the Vikings rattled off fourth-straight points to take a 12-9 lead. They increased their lead to 15-11 before the teams started trading off points. Portland State led 20-16 before back-to-back points by CSUN made it a two-point game, which forced a PSU timeout.
 
Portland State responded following the timeout and took five of the final seven points of the set to win 25-20 in the first.
 
The second set was the closest of the three. Down 22-20 back-to-back kills from JR MB Katy Wilson tied the set at 22-22. Both teams tallied service errors as the score moved to 23-23. A Matador kill gave them set point at 24-23. Wilson came up with another big kill to once again tie the set at 24-24.
 
A CSUN attacking error gave the Vikings their own set point at 25-24, which forced a CSUN timeout. JR MB Mikaelyn Sych gave the Vikings the 26-24 win in the second with her third kill of the set. Wilson also tallied three kills in the frame, all coming over the final eight points.
 
Portland State trailed 6-3 early in the third set before going on a 7-1 run to go up 10-7. The teams traded points before the Vikings started to create some separation. Leading 16-14, the Vikings went on an 8-1 run to force match point at 24-25. The Matadors staved off four match points to make it 24-19, which forced a PSU timeout.
 
The Vikings came out of the timeout and closed out the match with McDougald's 11th kill of the day. The Vikings out-hit the Matadors .233-to-.143 in the final frame.
 
CSUN's Aeryn Owens led all players with 14 kills and tallied the match's lone double-double with 12 digs.
 
Portland State wraps up non-conference action Saturday against the Texas-El Paso Miners. UTEP is 3-7 on the year after falling to CSUN in straight sets Friday morning. The Miners take on Portland Friday night before facing the Vikings Saturday.
 
NOTES:

• SO OH Caitlin Bettenay recorded her ninth double-digit kill match of the year and led the Vikings in kills for the eighth time.
• Portland State is 4-3 in three-set matches.
• Portland State is 8-0 when it wins the first set.
• Portland State is 7-0 when it wins the first two sets.
• Portland State is 8-0 when it out-hits an opponent.