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PORTLAND, Ore. — If you were looking for the Portland State volleyball team that started 0-4 in Big Sky play, you wouldn't find it Thursday at the Viking Pavilion. The Vikings were down to 10 players once again like they were at the start of the Big Sky schedule, but took league-leading Weber State to five sets in a hard-fought 3-2 (21-25, 25-15, 25-20, 18-25, 15-10) loss to the Wildcats.
 
The Vikings (2-17, 1-6 Big Sky) also played a five-set match against Montana State on Sept. 20 with only 10 players, but the Bobcats remain just above the Vikings at 2-5 in Big Sky play while Weber State (11-5, 6-1 Big Sky) left the court Thursday as the sole first-place team in the Big Sky. The Vikings didn't go past four sets in the other three matches where they had 10 or fewer players this season, making Thursday's showing against the Wildcats one of the team's best matches of the season despite the loss.
 
Freshman Peyton McBride led the Vikings to the strong showing against the Wildcats, as she put together one of the best individual performances by a Viking in recent memory. McBride led the Vikings with 20 kills and 23 digs against the Wildcats, making her the first Viking to finish with over 20 kills and 20 digs in a match since Jaklyn Wheeler had 21 kills and 20 digs against Gonzaga on Aug. 24, 2012.
 
The last time a Viking freshman posted a 20-20 match remains unknown, but McBride at least became the first freshman to go over 15 in both categories since Cheyne Corrado had 17 kills and 18 digs against Northern Arizona on Sept. 30, 2011.
 
Junior Toni McDougald nearly joined McBride with 20 kills, as she finished with a career-high 19 in the match. More impressively, McDougald recorded her 19 kills while only committing three attack errors, giving her a season-best .258 hitting percentage in a match where she recorded at least 12 kills.
 
McBride and McDougald would have loved if both of their performances came in a win, but the Wildcats took the fifth set, 15-10. The Vikings took a 6-4 lead early in the fifth off senior Katy Wilson's second kill in the set, but the Wildcats rattled off four straight points to take a two-point lead of their own at 8-6.
 
The Vikings got back within one at 9-8 when sophomore setter Maddy Reeb put away a Weber State over pass following her own dump attempt. The Vikings couldn't string together two points in a row the rest of the way, however, and the Wildcats converted their first match point on a combo block from Megan Gneiting and Hannah Hill.
 
The Vikings had done well to force a fifth set after going down 2-1 to the Wildcats earlier in the match. The Wildcats were untouchable while hitting .517 in the second set, and then took the 2-1 lead with a 25-20 win in the third set.
 
The Vikings came out and played their best set of the match in the fourth, however, hitting .283 with 17 kills on 46 attacks and only four errors.
 
The Vikings led the entire way through the fourth, and really took control with an early 5-0 run that stretched their lead to eight at 13-5. McBride punctuated the run with back-to-back kills, and also assisted on a block with junior Timi Severson during the run.
 
The Vikings rattled off another four points in a row a little later, with McBride providing another two kills as the Vikings took an 18-8 lead. A mini-Weber State run made the set a little more interesting in the end, but a rare kill from senior defensive specialist Haley Glass, followed by a Weber State attack error two points later gave the Vikings the set, 25-18.
 
Defense led the Vikings in the first set, as they jumped on the Wildcats early by winning the opening frame, 25-21. The Vikings held the Wildcats to just .105 hitting in the set, and forced them into committing eight attack errors.
 
Weber State had taken a 13-10 lead with a 5-0 run in the first set, but the Vikings one-upped the Wildcats with a 6-0 run right after to take the lead back at 16-13. The Wildcats came back to tie it again at 19-19, but the Vikings scored six of the last eight points to close out the set. The Vikings forced Weber State's Andrea Hale into back-to-back errors to end the set, the second of which came on a combo block from Severson and Whitney Turner.
 
The Vikings tied their season high with 12 team blocks in the match, while Severson led the way with a career-high eight total blocks between one solo and seven assists.
 
Sophomore Maddy Reeb hit the 50-assist mark for the first time as a Viking in the match while finishing with her fourth double-double of the season with 50 assists and 10 digs. All four of Reeb's double-doubles have come in the Vikings' first seven Big Sky matches of the season.
 
Freshman Mackenzie Sullivan also started at libero for the first time since the Vikings' match against Colorado on Sept. 14, and tied McBride for the team lead in digs with 23.
 
The Vikings will hope to show similar fight against Idaho State on Saturday, as they host the Bengals at 7 p.m. (PT). The Bengals came into Thursday tied with the Wildcats for the Big Sky lead, but played a disappointing match at Sacramento State as the Hornets swept them, 3-0.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings fell to 38-17 all time against Weber State with Thursday's loss…The Vikings also fell to 26-17 all time in the Big Sky series between them and the Wildcats…McBride's 20-20 performance gave the freshman her second double-double of the season and her first since she had 12 kills and 10 digs against Long Beach State on Aug. 25.