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PORTLAND, Ore. — Somewhere down the road there will be a more tangible reward for the toughness the Portland State volleyball team showed this weekend. Down to 10 players for a pair of matches against teams that came into the weekend tied for the lead in the Big Sky standings, the Vikings pushed both Weber State and Idaho State to five sets, only to lose both matches, 3-2.
 
The Vikings (2-18, 1-7 Big Sky) deserved better against the Bengals (12-9, 6-2 Big Sky) Saturday, but were forced to settle for the loss after the Bengals came back from a 2-1 deficit to beat the Vikings in five at the Viking Pavilion. The Vikings saved four set points while winning the third set, 27-25, but the Bengals came back late to win the fourth set, 25-21, and then made a decisive run in the middle of the fifth set to close out the match, 15-11.
 
Sophomore setter Maddy Reeb personified the toughness by the Vikings Saturday, as she played through a hand injury that forced her right index and middle fingers to be taped together. Reeb showed no signs of the injury bothering her, however, and recorded yet another stat-stuffing match with 44 assists, seven digs, six kills (against only one error) and five total blocks between one solo and four assists. Reeb also had a double-double with 50 assists and 10 digs against Weber State on Thursday – her fourth double-double in eight Big Sky matches this season.
 
Junior outside hitter Toni McDougald had her second strong match of the weekend, as well, as she led the Vikings with 17 kills against the Bengals, two days after setting a new career high with 19 kills against the Wildcats. McDougald was productive while still being efficient in both matches this weekend, as she only had eight errors combined on 119 total attacks between both matches.
 
McDougald came up especially big for the Vikings in the third set, when she and the Vikings fought off four set points to beat the Bengals 27-25. Neither team led by more than two points in the set until the Vikings used a 6-1 run to take a 19-16 lead late. The Bengals responded with their own 8-2 run, however, giving them three set points at 24-21.
 
Senior Katy Wilson saved the first set point for the Vikings, as she placed a crafty tip to the right front corner for a kill. Freshman Peyton McBride – coming off a 20-kill, 23-dig performance against Weber State on Thursday – saved the next set point off a back-row kill that dribbled over the net for a point for the Vikings. Wilson and Reeb then saved the third straight set point with a combo block on the left side of the net that tied it up again at 24-24.
 
Idaho State earned its fourth set point on the next point with a kill from leading attacker Abby Garrity, but the Vikings saved it again to get back level at 25-25. McDougald saved the set point this time with a kill, hitting a ball off the Idaho State block on the left side after McBride kept the ball alive with a great pick up on a blocked ball earlier in the point.
 
McDougald gave the Vikings their first set point while converting the second of two straight cross-court attacks to put the Vikings up 26-25. Reeb then made sure the Vikings converted on their own set point, as she dumped a ball over the net to seal it for the Vikings at 27-25.
 
The Vikings fell behind 5-2 early in the fourth set, but used a 7-0 run to take a 9-5 lead. The Vikings played tenacious defense while forcing the Bengals into three attacking errors and a ball handling error during the run.
 
The Vikings still led by three at 14-11 when McDougald hammered a ball from the left side for a kill, and led 18-16 a few points later following back-to-back combo blocks from Wilson and Reeb. The Bengals responded with a 7-1 run to take a 23-19 lead, however, and there was no miracle comeback for the Vikings this time as the Bengals closed out the fourth set, 25-21.
 
The Bengals led 5-3 early in the fifth set, before a mini, 3-0 run for the Vikings – the last point coming on yet another McDougald kill – gave the Vikings their first lead in the set at 6-5. McDougald recorded her 17th kill a few points later to tie it again at 7-7, but the Bengals came back with five straight points to take a commanding 12-7 lead.
 
An Idaho State service error, followed by a kill from Whitney Turner, gave the Vikings hope at 12-9, but the Bengals won two of the next three points to earn four match points at 14-10. Wilson saved one match point for the Vikings with her last kill of the match, but the Bengals finished the match on the next point off a solo block from Taylor Meeks.
 
The Vikings played a strong first set for the second straight match Saturday, taking the opening frame off the Bengals, 25-21, just as they did against Weber State on Thursday.
 
Wilson and McDougald combined for a mini, 3-0 PSU run that give the Vikings a 14-9 lead in the first set. Wilson ended the run with her third kill of the set while carving out a crazy angle as she cut the ball back all the way across the court from the right.
 
Idaho State came back with five straight points to tie the set at 14-14, but the Vikings followed with four straight points of their own to retake the lead at 18-14. The Bengals got back within one at 21-20, but the Vikings won four of the final five points to close out the set, 25-21. McBride recorded her fourth kill of the set to give the Vikings the lead at 24-21, before an Idaho State attack error ended the set on the next point.
 
McBride finished one kill from recording her second straight double-double with nine kills and 15 digs against the Bengals Saturday. Wilson also finished second to McDougald with 15 kills in the match, and led the Vikings with six total blocks on one solo and five assists. Freshman libero Mackenzie Sullivan, meanwhile, set a career high with 26 digs Saturday, two days after she came within one of her previous career high with 23 digs against Weber State.
 
The Vikings remain home next weekend, when they'll host Montana and Montana State on Oct. 18 and 20, respectively, at the Viking Pavilion. And if the Vikings can match the toughness they showed against Weber State and Idaho State in both of those matches, then the tangible reward they deserved this weekend will come against either the Grizzlies or Bobcats.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings fell to 34-23 all time against the Bengals with Saturday's loss…The Vikings also fell to 22-21 in the Big Sky series between them and the Bengals…All three defensive specialists on the Vikings' roster had 10+ digs in the match, as seniors Hadley Heck and Haley Glass had 13 and 10 digs, respectively, to go with Sullivan's team-high 26 digs.