BOZEMAN, Mont. — A 31-29 loss in the third set proved the difference for the Portland State volleyball team Sunday, as the Vikings played well against Montana State for the second straight day but lost again, this time in four sets (20-25, 25-23, 31-29, 25-17).
 
The Vikings (1-11, 0-10 Big Sky) had three set points to close out the third set at Shroyer Gym, any one of which would have put the Vikings up 2-1. The Bobcats (8-2, 8-2 Big Sky) saved each one, however, while converting on their fourth set point to complete a comeback from 14-5 down earlier in the set.
 
"We got solid performances from everyone, we just did not close the door when we created opportunities to do so," Portland State head volleyball coach Michael Seemann said afterwards.
 
The Vikings also dropped a heartbreaker to the Bobcats Saturday, when the Bobcats saved two match points to beat the Vikings in five. The Vikings came back from two sets down to force a fifth set yesterday, but the Bobcats spoiled that comeback in the fifth.
 
Maddy Reeb, Parker Webb and Ellie Snook all backed up their strong performances from Saturday's match with more solid play Sunday.
 
Reeb posted her second triple-double of the season with 14 kills, 23 assists and 12 digs Sunday. No Viking had recorded a triple-double in over 10 years before this season – not since Garyn Schlatter had 11 kills, 48 assists and 15 digs against Northern Colorado on Oct. 15, 2010 – but Reeb now has two for the Vikings.
 
Reeb also had a strong match Saturday, coming on at the start of the second set and finishing with five kills, 34 assists and 13 digs. Reeb averaged 9.5 kills, 28.5 assists and 12.5 digs across both matches against the Bobcats.
 
Webb, meanwhile, posted her second straight double-double Sunday, finishing with 12 kills on .323 hitting to go with 13 digs. Webb recorded 17 kills on .295 hitting with 12 digs Saturday, giving her weekend averages of 3.22 kills and 2.78 digs per set while hitting .307.
 
Snook followed her season-high 30 digs in Saturday's match with the second double-double of her career Sunday. Snook finished with 20 assists and 11 digs, giving her averages of 5.56 digs and 1.89 assists per set across both matches this weekend.
 
Snook re-claimed the Big Sky lead in digs per set with her play this weekend, leapfrogging Eastern Washington's Catelyn Linke for the lead at 4.79 d/s.
 
The freshmen duo of Gabby Hollins and Ashleigh Barto also each had strong matches for the Vikings Sunday. Hollins finished a kill away from a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs, while Barto was a kill away from her career high with eight while leading the Vikings with a career-high six blocks.
 
Zoe McBride gave the Vikings a fifth player in double figures for digs, as she finished with 12 to go with six kills.
 
The Vikings got off to a hot start Sunday, winning the first set, 25-20, while out-hitting the Bobcats .256-to-.075. Six different Vikings recorded at least two kills in the frame, with Webb leading the way with four.
 
The Vikings hadn't won the first set since their first match against Eastern Washington on Feb. 7, a streak that included six straight matches.
 
The team was a bit unlucky to not win the second set, too, after they went on a 4-0 run late that gave them a 19-17 lead. Hollins and Barto each had a kill during the run, while the freshman duo also combined for a block. The Bobcats answered with a 3-0 run to re-take the lead at 20-19, however, and closed out the set, 25-23, a few points later.
 
The Vikings responded well at the start of the third set, going up 14-5. As Seemann said, though, they did not shut the door on the Bobcats, who went on an extended 13-4 run to tie the set at 18-18. The Vikings won five of the next seven points to go up 23-20, but the Bobcats answered again with three straight points to level it at 23-23. The teams traded set points from there until the Bobcats got a kill and a PSU attack error to close out the set, 31-29.
 
The fourth set started well for the Vikings considering their disappointment in the fourth, but the Bobcats took control with a 9-2 run in the middle of the set that gave them a 21-14 lead. PSU's time was short after that.
 
The Vikings return home for their next two matches, as they host Montana at Viking Pavilion on March 7 and 8. The Vikings and Grizzlies start at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 7, before a 6 p.m. start Monday, March 8.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings still lead the all-time series between them and the Bobcats, 44-24-1, despite losing Sunday…Snook moved up to ninth all-time in career digs during the program's Big Sky era (1996-present) with 831 now in her career…Snook needs 120 more to catch the next player in front of her, Marija Vojnovic (2006-09), at 951.