BOZEMAN, Mont. — The Portland State volleyball team will have to wait at least another day for its breakthrough, but it appeared closer than ever Saturday as the Vikings erased a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set at Montana State before falling, 3-2 (25-17, 25-20, 22-25, 19-25, 17-15). 
 
The Vikings got progressively better throughout the match Saturday at Shroyer Gym., increasing their hitting percentage in every set.
 
The Vikings (1-10, 0-9 Big Sky) also did a better job answering their opponents' runs than in any other match this season, with the exception of the team's season opener. Down 2-0, the Vikings saw their early lead in the third set slip away as the Bobcats came back to tie the Vikings at 21-21. In other matches this season – as well as in the second set Saturday, when the Vikings gave up another early lead while dropping the set – the Vikings would have let their opponents' run get to them and drop the set. The Vikings didn't do that Saturday, however, as they scored four of the final five points to win the third set and extend the match.
 
The Vikings showed similar mental strength in the fifth set, when the Bobcats (7-2, 7-2 Big Sky) came back from an early deficit to take a 9-8 lead. The Vikings immediately responded to go back up 12-10, and then went up 14-12 again with back-to-back kills from McBride and Julia Haynie after the Bobcats tied it up again.
 
The team's mental toughness wasn't rewarded, ultimately, as the Bobcats finished the match on a 5-1 run. It could pay off for the Vikings Sunday, however, when the teams face each other again.
 
"This team played aggressive, confident volleyball, and we put ourselves in a position to win the match. I am confident that with this level of effort and execution, we will be in a similar position tomorrow evening. I couldn't be more proud of this team and the effort we put forward tonight," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said afterwards.
 
Webb led the Vikings with 17 kills on .295 hitting Saturday, setting a new season high while also posting her third double-double of the season with 12 digs. McBride set a new season high with 10 kills to go with 10 digs, giving her the first double-double of her Viking career after she transferred from Morgan State before the season.
 
Reeb, meanwhile, took over at setter at the beginning of the second set, and led the Vikings to their comeback behind 34 assists, 13 digs, five kills and four blocks.
 
"Maddy delivered tonight, taking on a role that she has not been in for a while," Seemann said of Reeb.
 
Sophomore libero Ellie Snook also broke out of a mini-slump – only by her standards – while recording a match- and season-high 30 digs. Snook hadn't gone over 20 digs in four straight matches, and dropped from the top of the Big Sky Conference for digs per set as a result. Snook took the conference lead back with her performance Saturday, however, as she upped her season average to 4.78 digs per set.
 
Snook and McBride also settled the Vikings' serve receive down Saturday. The Vikings' last four opponents had averaged 2.87 aces per set over the last two week, but the Vikings held the Bobcats to less than half that average as the Bobcats recorded only seven aces across their five sets Saturday.
 
"We went with a two-person receive formation, with Zoe and Ellie passing every serve of the evening. They accepted the challenge and allowed us to be balanced offensively," Seemann said of McBride, Snook and the team's serve receive.
 
It initially looked like the Vikings would turn the match around in the second set, as the Vikings ran out to a 6-1 lead. The Bobcats steadily chipped away at the Vikings' lead, however, and took their first lead of the set at 15-14. The Vikings stayed with the Bobcats until a 5-0 MSU run closed out the frame, giving Montana State a 2-0 lead.
 
The Vikings led early again in the third set, as they went up 13-6 on back-to-back kills from Webb. The Bobcats answered with a 9-2 run to tie it up at 15-15, however, and tied it up again at 21-21 after the Vikings had gone back up three at 21-18.  The Vikings forced an attack error to take the lead back, while McBride put the Vikings up 23-21 with her second kill of the set. Webb closed out the set a few points later with her fifth kill of the frame.
 
The Vikings took another sizeable lead early in the fourth set, as they used an extended 10-3 run to go up 18-8. The Bobcats started to find some momentum late in the set, but the Vikings still comfortably closed it out, 25-19, on the second kill of the set from sophomore Jasmine Powell.
 
Two kills from Haynie, sandwiched around an ace for McBride, gave the Vikings an early 6-2 lead in the fifth set. The Bobcats came back to take a 9-8 advantage, but the Vikings re-took the lead from there, and eventually earned two match points following a kill from McBride. Montana State's Jourdain Klein erased the first match point with a kill, while Alexis Goroski followed with a service ace. The Bobcats took their first match point with a block to go up 15-14. Webb erased that with her final kill of the match, but back-to-back kills from Montana State's Hailey Merkes closed out the match for the Bobcats.
 
The Vikings face the Bobcats again Sunday, with a 4 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. MT start scheduled for Montana States Shroyer Gym.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings still lead the all-time series between them and the Bobcats, 44-23-1, despite losing Saturday…Haynie finished with eight kills on .353 hitting, the sixth straight match in which she's hit over .300 while also recording at least five kills…Snook moved into the career top 10 for digs during the program's Big Sky era (1996-Present) with 811 digs now in her career…Snook now ranks ninth all-time at Portland State for career digs.