PORTLAND, Ore. — As much as this Portland State volleyball season has lifted Viking fans' collective hearts, those same hearts broke a little Thursday night as Montana State came back from a 2-1 deficit to beat the Vikings in five sets (18-25, 25-21,15-25, 25-19, 15-10) at Viking Pavilion.
 
The loss takes the Vikings out of the driver's seat for at least a share of the Big Sky regular-season title. The Vikings will now need Northern Colorado to lose at least once between their road matches at Eastern Washington and Idaho, and Weber State to lose at home against Southern Utah Saturday to have a chance. The Vikings would also need to beat Montana on Saturday, which will serve as the Vikings' Senior Night for Maddy Reeb, Genevieve Florig, Ally Wada, Zoe McBride and Parker Webb.
 
The Vikings (17-9, 11-4 Big Sky) were in the driver's seat for much of Thursday night against the Bobcats (14-12, 10-5 Big Sky), as they outhit Montana State .220-to-.188, and out-killed them 62-to-54. However, the Vikings also gave up nine service errors in the match, which killed some potential rallies.
 
The Vikings dominated the first and third sets – winning them 25-18 and 25-15, respectively – but then couldn't keep it up in the second or fourth. An unfortunate start to the fifth set also put the Vikings in an early hole that they couldn't dig out of. The Vikings dropped five of the first six points in the fifth, and while they worked their way back to within two at 8-6, the Bobcats answered immediately with three straight points and then didn't let the Vikings back within three the rest of the way.
 
Thursday night's heartbreaker spoiled one of the best matches of the season for Viking junior Makayla Lewis. Lewis finished with 20 kills for only the second time this season, while hitting a seasonal-best .404 hitting. Lewis also recorded 17 digs Thursday for her fourth straight double-double and 12th of the season.
 
Lewis was at her best in the first set, when she recorded six kills on only seven swings to hit .857 in the frame. McBride also started hot in the first set, as she recorded five kills on her first five swings of the match.
 
The duo of Lewis and McBride helped lead the Vikings to a dominant offensive set, as they finished with 15 kills on .400 hitting as a team in the opening frame. Lewis and McBride accounted for 11 of those 15 kills, while Reeb and Webb added two kills each.
 
Good distribution highlighted the Vikings' victory in the third set. No player had more than three kills in the set, but six different Vikings finished with at least two kills.
 
The Vikings didn't get the same kill production after the third set, however, as they hit just .094 while recording 12 kills in the fourth set. The Vikings then tallied only three kills in the fifth set.
 
Overall, McBride joined Lewis in double figures for both kills and digs, as she recorded her first double-double since the Vikings' match at Montana on Oct. 14. The senior finished with 12 kills and 16 digs while also adding three blocks.
 
Genevieve Florig led the Vikings with five blocks Thursday, while adding six kills on .312 hitting. Ellie Snook led the Vikings with 18 digs in the back row for the Vikings.
 
Saturday's match against Montana now represents a chance to right the ship ahead of next week's Big Sky tournament, as well as a chance to honor the Vikings' five seniors. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, while the Senior Night ceremony will take place before the match, starting at 6:47 p.m.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings still lead the all-time series between them and the Bobcats, 45-25-1, despite Thursday's loss…The Vikings had been 3-0 in five-set matches this season before Thursday…Snook hit the 1,500-career dig milestone during the match, as she now has 1,513 in her career…Webb needs six kills to tie Whitney Phillips (2009-10) for fifth, or nine kills to tie Jessica Frederick (2003-06) for fourth all-time in career kills during the program's Division I era (1996-pres.).