PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State volleyball team put together the runs they have against other teams this season, but Sacramento State pushed back while handing the Vikings a 3-1 (19-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-23) loss at Viking Pavilion.
 
The loss drops the Vikings (16-8, 10-3 Big Sky) out of a tie for first place in the Big Sky standings, while it gives the Hornets (14-10, 8-5 Big Sky) their sixth straight win.
 
The Vikings were the first team since Montana on Oct. 16 to take a set off the Hornets, as they used a 9-0 run in the middle of the first to fuel a 25-19 set victory. The Hornets responded, however, taking the second set comfortably, before late runs gave them the third and fourth.
 
"[Sacramento State] pushed back," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said afterwards. "A lot of the teams that we've been playing, once we flip the tables, it just felt like everything moved our way. But that was because we created those situations, and we also just put the lid on it. Whereas every set tonight, we did that, we put a run on them, but they bounced back. And we just didn't respond to that, and so I think that's something that's a learning moment for us. Because this was a good, tight, well-battled match, and we're going to see that in the tournament no matter who we play."
 
Both teams blocked well in the match, but the Hornets finished with the upper hand while out-blocking the Vikings, 17.5-to-12.0. The 17.5 blocks marked a season high for a Viking opponent, while the Vikings' .075 hitting percentage was their lowest since hitting in the negative against UCLA on Sept. 3.
 
Still, the Vikings had their opportunities to win Thursday. Defense led the way in the first set, as the Vikings forced the Hornets into five attack errors during a 9-0 run that flipped a 13-8 deficit into a 17-13 lead. The Vikings scored 17 of the final 23 points in the set, and had Sacramento State in the negative by the end after they were hitting .333 at the 13-8 mark.
 
After the Hornets ran away with the second set, the teams traded runs midway through a tight third set. The Hornets went on a 7-1 run to take a 15-12 lead, but the Vikings responded by winning eight of the next 11 points to go up 20-18. Genevieve Florig had three kills during the stretch, as the Vikings found her more in the third set than they had previously.
 
The Hornets came back to tie it at 20-all, however, and then won the final three points of the set to go up two sets to one.
 
Another late run by the Hornets spoiled what had been a strong set for the Vikings as they tried to force a fifth. The Vikings took an early 11-6 lead, and pushed it back out to a 17-12 advantage after the Hornets drew within one. But once again, the Hornets pushed back, using an 8-1 run to go up 20-18. The Vikings got back within one multiple times after that, but the Hornets closed it out, 25-23, with a kill from Bridgette Smith.
 
"We can hang with any team in the conference. What I think we learned from [tonight] is that we have to be the ones who are the aggressors. Today, sometimes we were the aggressive ones, and sometimes we were just there," Seemann said of the match.
 
Makayla Lewis led the way for the Vikings with 12 kills to go with 12 digs, giving Lewis her ninth double-double of the season. No other Viking had more than seven kills, however.
 
Ally Wada added her 12th double-double of the season, finishing with 13 assists and 14 digs. Zoe McBride also had 10 digs to go with five kills.
 
Defensively, Ellie Snook led all players with 25 digs. Ashleigh Barto, meanwhile, recorded a career-high eight blocks in the match.
 
The Vikings can still find their way back in a tie for first place, but will need other matches to go their way now. The Vikings will also need to win their final three matches, starting with their final road match of the season Saturday at Southern Utah, a place the Vikings haven't won since 2018.
 
"We have to come off of this loss and be able to re-group and come out and try to compete," Seemann said of Saturday's match at Southern Utah. "I think that's the biggest piece. There's still a lot of season left with three matches remaining."
 
First serve between the Vikings and Thunderbirds is set for 5 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. MT.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings fell to 24-50 all-time against the Hornets after Thursday's loss…The Vikings fell at home for the first time during Big Sky play, and just the third time overall this season…Snook recorded her 38th ace of the season during the match, tying her for the third-best single-season total during the 25-point scoring format.