DAVIS, Calif. – After picking up its sixth win of the season with a win over host UC Davis, the Portland State volleyball team fell to Santa Clara to split the opening day of action at the UC Davis Invitational in Davis, Calif.
 
Portland State (6-2 overall) rolled to 25-19 and 25-16 wins over UC Davis (4-4) before the Aggies picked up a 25-21 win in the third. The Vikings battled back and took a highly contested fourth set, 25-23.
 
The Vikings did not have much time to celebrate their victory. The match ended just before 2 p.m. PT, which gave them just over 3.5 hours to rest, recuperate, and rejuvenate their bodies before their second match of the day against Santa Clara (4-4).
 
After hitting .267 against the Aggies, the Vikings struggled against the Broncos, hitting a season-low .103 en route to a 25-22, 25-14, 25-21 loss in straight sets.
 
SO OH Caitlin Bettenay had a career day in the opener against UC Davis. She tallied career highs in both kills with 22 and digs with 16 for her fourth double-double of the season. She hit a season-high .375 (22-4-48) against the Aggies but struggled against the Broncos with just four kills and a negative hitting percentage.
 
JR MB Mikaelyn Sych and SO OH Toni McDougald both recorded career highs in kills against the Aggies. Sych tied her previous career high with 11 kills for her second double-digit kill performance of the year. McDougald recorded her first with a career-high 10 kills.
 
With Portland State leading 9-6 early in the first set of the day, UC Davis went on an 8-1 run to take a 14-10 lead midway through the set. The Vikings countered with a 12-2 run, including a 7-0 run, to take a commanding 24-17 lead. After the Aggies staved off two set points, JR MB Katy Wilson gave the Vikings the 25-19 win with a kill.
 
The Viking went on a 4-0 run midway through the second set to take an 11-7 lead. After the Aggies pulled within two at 12-10, the Vikings went on a 4-1 run to go up 16-11 powered by back-to-back blocks. After a UC Davis point, the Vikings rattled off five-straight points to take a 21-12 lead on kill from Bettenay. A kill from Sych gave the Vikings a 25-16 win in the second.
 
Bettenay was the offensive story for the Vikings through the first two frames against the Aggies. After tallying six kills on nine swings, with no errors, in the opening set, she went 9-for-16 in the second set, against with no attacking errors. Through two frames she was hitting .600 (15-0-25) as the Vikings rolled to a 2-0 lead.
 
After trailing early in the third set, the Vikings scored three-straight points to tie it at 5-5. The Aggies countered with four-straight points to go up 9-5. Bettenay pulled the Vikings within one point at 16-15 before tallying her first attacking error of the match. She tallied 18 kills on 31 swings with no errors.
 
UC Davis pulled away late in the third and held on to take the set 25-21 to make it a 2-1 match.
 
It was a battle all the way through the fourth set. UC Davis ran out to a 7-2 lead before the Vikings went on a 6-1 run to tie it at 8-8. The Vikings took the lead and extended it out to three points at 17-14 before the Aggies cut it to one point at 18-17.
 
Portland State scored three straight, then UC Davis scored three straight and it remained a one-point advantage for the Vikings at 21-20. After a PSU timeout, the Vikings took four of the next seven points to take the fourth set 25-23.
 
Sych came up big for the Vikings in the final frame going 5-for-8 with no errors. McDougald added four kills while JR DS/L Haley Glass anchored the defense with nine digs in the frame. She racked up a career-high 21 digs in the match.
 
The first set against Santa Clara was close throughout. With the score tied at 17-17, the Broncos got some separation with a 3-0 run to go up 20-17. Points bounced back and forth but the Vikings were not able to close the gap, falling 25-22 in the opening frame.
 
Portland State opened the second set with three-straight points, which forced an early Santa Clara timeout. It proved to be well timed as the Broncos rattled off seven-straight points to take a 7-3 lead. The Broncos went on a few more runs in the second set before taking it by a score of 25-14.
 
The Vikings took a three-point lead early in the third frame before the Broncos tied it at 8-8 with three-straight points. After a pair of PSU points, Santa Clara went on an 8-2 run to take a four-point lead at 16-12. The Vikings cut the lead to two points at 19-17 but the Broncos extended their lead again and held on to take the third set 25-21.
 
Parker Webb came off the bench against the Broncos and posted a team-high eight kills with a pair of service aces.  
 
Portland State closes out the weekend with a single match against Boise State. The Vikings and Broncos are slated to square off at 11 a.m. PT.
 
NOTES:

• SO OH Caitlin Bettenay posted her fourth double-double with career highs in kills (22) and digs (16) against UC Davis.
• Bettenay hit a season-high .375 (22-4-48) against UC Davis.
• JR DS/L tallied a career-high 21 digs against UC Davis.
• SO OH Toni McDougald recorded her first career double-digit kill performance for Portland State with 10 kills against UC Davis.
• JR MB Mikaelyn Sych tallied 11 kills and hit a career-high .476 (11-1-21).
• SR S Erin Clark posted her second double-double of the year with xx assists and xx digs against Santa Clara.