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MISSOULA, Mont. — The universe owes the Portland State volleyball team a coffee, if not more. Down another player from Thursday, leaving them with only nine dressed players against Montana, the Vikings lost 3-0 to the Grizzlies Saturday at the West Auxiliary Gym.
 
The Vikings (1-13, 0-2 Big Sky) lost senior Jenna Mullen from Thursday, leaving only one of the team's regular outside hitters healthy for the match in junior Toni McDougald. Senior middle blocker Katy Wilson moved to the outside to try and bolster the Vikings' attack, as well as sophomore setter Maddy Reeb. Wilson's move to the outside left the Vikings with only two healthy middle blockers, however, in Timi Severson and Whitney Turner.
 
To the Vikings' credit, they got better and better against the Grizzlies (5-9, 2-0 Big Sky) throughout the match Saturday. The Vikings hit better in each set, and only committed five combined errors between the second and third sets. The Grizzlies never hit worse than .268, however, and finished off the Vikings while hitting .326 in the third.
 
The Vikings stayed with the Grizzlies all the way through the second set, after the Grizzlies ran away with the first. The Vikings got within one at 13-12 on a Montana attack error, but the Grizzlies responded with a 3-0 run to go up 16-12. The teams traded points from there, with only one run of three or more points the rest of the way, allowing the Grizzlies to close out the set, 25-19.
 
The Vikings were within one point again in the middle of the third set at 16-15, but a 5-0 run for the Grizzlies put Montana back in control, and the Grizzlies finished it at 25-20 a few points later.
 
Wilson led the Vikings with eight kills in the match, while Turner added a career-high seven kills on nine attacks and no errors. Junior setter Mary Jo McBride led the Vikings with 21 assists, while senior libero Hadley Heck recorded a match-high 18 digs.
 
The Vikings return home for their next match, as they host Northern Arizona at the Viking Pavilion Thursday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. (PT).
 
Match Notes: The Vikings fall to 50-17 all time against the Grizzlies with Saturday's loss…The Grizzlies have won three of their last five matches against the Vikings, after the Vikings had a 21-match win streak snapped in 2014…The Vikings hadn't been swept on the Montana road trip since 2004.