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EUGENE, Ore. — The Portland State volleyball team picked a difficult opponent to open its 2018 road schedule against in the 18th-ranked Oregon Ducks, and the Ducks played the 18th-ranked team in the country while beating the Vikings 3-0 (25-15, 25-10, 25-13) Tuesday at Matthew Knight Arena.
 
The Vikings (1-3) got progressively better throughout the match, but so did the Ducks (1-2), as both teams improved their hitting percentage in every set. The Vikings improved from .086 in the first set to .200 in the second set and .318 in the third, but the Ducks matched the improvement, hitting .317 in the first, .484 in the second and then .533 in the third.
 
The Vikings only made six attack errors in the match, and only two of those came after the first set. The Ducks dug the Vikings well, though, as only 22 of the Vikings' 87 attacks in the match went down for kills. Additionally, the Ducks got lots of free points off the Vikings on serves, as the Ducks finished with 13 service aces in the three-set match, including nine for Oregon redshirt sophomore Brooke Van Sickle.
 
The teams started out even in the match, as a kill from Viking sophomore setter Maddy Reeb made it 13-13 midway through the first set. The Ducks followed with a 29-4 run, however, that bridged the end of the first set and the start of the second.
 
The Vikings got out to a better start in the third set, as Katy Wilson converted her fourth kill of the match to give the Vikings an early 5-3 lead. The Ducks rattled off six straight points after that, however, and steadily grew their lead from there before closing out the match with a 25-13 win in the third.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Parker Webb led the Vikings with seven kills in the match, and did not commit an error on 18 total attacks. Wilson also didn't commit an error while finishing with four kills on 11 attacks, while fellow senior Jenna Mullen finished with five kills and six digs.
 
Freshman libero Mackenzie Sullivan led the Vikings with nine digs in the match, while Reeb finished with a team-high 16 assists.
 
The Vikings face another Pac-12 opponent in their next match, as they return home to host Oregon State and UC Davis for the Rose City Showdown at the Viking Pavilion this weekend. Oregon State and UC Davis will open the tournament with a neutral-site match against each other at 11 a.m. Friday, while the Vikings will play the Beavers later that day at 6 p.m.
 
Match Notes:The Vikings fell to 27-21 all-time against Oregon with Tuesday's loss to the Ducks…The Ducks have won 18 of the past 19 matches against the Vikings going back to 1986…Tuesday's match marked the Ducks' ninth straight win in the series, as well as their 13th straight win in Eugene…The Vikings had won their last three matches against Pac-12 opponents between a win over Colorado in 2016 and two straight over Arizona State in 2016 and 2017, but had that streak snapped with the loss to Oregon Tuesday.