BOULDER, Colo. — The Portland State volleyball team fought off set and match points in the third and fourth sets, respectively, against Indiana State Saturday, but couldn't complete comebacks in either set. The Vikings lost 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 27-25, 25-23) to the Sycamores for their second loss of the day at the Colorado Classic, following a 3-0 (25-17, 28-26, 25-11) loss to Colorado State earlier in the day.
 
Saturday's two losses ended the non-conference slate for the Vikings at 1-11. However, the good news for the Vikings is that non-conference schedules have typically been poor indicators of success for the conference season. The Vikings finished the 2014 non-conference season with a 2-10 record but went on to make the Big Sky tournament with a 7-9 conference record. The Vikings also lost their last seven non-conference matches in 2011 only to go on to finish second in the Big Sky with a 12-4 conference record.
 
Match 2 – Indiana State 3, Portland State 1 (PDF | HTML)
 
The Vikings showed progress in their final non-conference match Saturday evening against Indiana State. The Vikings won the second set against the Sycamores (7-5), and fought off set and match points in the third and fourth sets, respectively, before falling 3-1.
 
Despite the loss, the Vikings can take lots of positives from the match, as the team hit over .200 for the first time since the team's match against Long Beach State on Aug. 25. Additionally, several Vikings recorded season or career highs in the match, including senior Jenna Mullen, who set career highs for kills (20) and digs (16). Mullen committed only three attack errors in the match while recording her 20 kills on 44 attacks to hit a seasonal-best .386.
 
Senior Katy Wilson tied a career high with 13 kills in the match, and did so while committing only one error on 22 total attacks. Junior Toni McDougald also recorded her first double-double of the season with 11 kills and 12 digs.
 
Senior Hadley Heck started at libero after making her first start of the season at the position in the Vikings' morning match against Colorado State. Heck recorded a career-high 22 digs in the match against the Sycamores, her first time going over 20 digs as a Viking. Junior newcomer Mary Jo McBride also took over at setter over the latter stages of the match, and finished with a PSU career-high 24 assists. Additionally, Sarah Brennan recorded a match-high six blocks on two solos and four block assists while seeing her most extensive action of the season in the match.
 
The Vikings' standout individual performances nearly put them over the top against the Sycamores, as the Vikings looked poised for a victory when they won the second set, 25-21. Mullen had nine kills in the second set alone, and recorded three kills in a pair of four- and five-point stretches at different points of the set.
 
The Vikings ran out to an 11-8 lead at the start of the third set, but the Sycamores responded with a 6-0 run to take a 14-11 lead.
 
The Sycamores maintained its lead until earning four set points at 24-20. Back-to-Back kills from McDougald and Mullen erased two set points for the Sycamores, while a bad set and a Peyton McBride kill brought the Vikings back level at 24-24. The Sycamores would eventually pull out the set on their sixth set point, however, going up two sets to one.
 
The Vikings ran out to another early lead at the start of the fourth set, when back-to-back kills from Wilson and Mary Job McBride made it 7-4 PSU. The Sycamores got back within one at 8-7, however, and neither team took more than a one point lead for a long spell after that.
 
The Sycamores eventually went up two at 20-18, and then earned four match points for themselves at 24-20 a few points later. Wilson and Peyton McBride wiped away two match points with back-to-back kills, while Mullen followed with a service ace to get the Vikings within one at 24-23. Indiana State's Laura Gross came back with a kill out of a timeout to end the match at 25-23 in the fourth set, however.
 
Match 1 – Colorado State 3, Portland State 0 (PDF | HTML)
 
The Vikings nearly took a set off a quality Colorado State team in their first match of the day, but lost 3-0 to the Rams.
 
The Vikings outhit the Rams (8-3) in the second set of their match, .162-to-.098. The Rams' hitting percentage marked a dramatic improvement for the Vikings over the first set, when the Rams had their way while hitting .483. The Vikings forced the Rams into committing 12 errors in the second set, and tied the match at 23-23, 24-24, 25-25, 26-26 late before falling 28-26.
 
The Rams returned to their strong form in the third set, hitting .481 to close out the Vikings with a 25-11 set win.
 
Freshman Peyton McBride led the Vikings with 11 kills in the match, and added seven digs. Junior Toni McDougald matched McBride with seven digs in the match while also recording seven kills. Sophomore setter Maddy Reeb led the Vikings with 22 assists against the Rams, while senior Hadley Heck recorded a team-high nine digs.
 
The Rams were the fourth 2017 NCAA tournament team the Vikings played during the non-conference schedule, as well as the fourth team to either be ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll at the time of their match against the Vikings.
 
The Vikings open Big Sky play on the road next weekend against Montana State and Montana. The Vikings begin the weekend against Montana State in Bozeman, Mont., with a match at 7 p.m. (MT) Thursday, Sept. 20. The Vikings will then play Montana at 7 p.m. (MT) Saturday, Sept. 22, in Missoula, Mont.