CHENEY, Wash. — For the fourth time in five matches to start the season, the Portland State volleyball team went to five sets while facing off against Eastern Washington Sunday at Reese Court. The Vikings would have rather this one ended sooner, however, as the Eagles came back from a 2-1 deficit to beat the Vikings, 3-2 (18-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18, 15-12).
 
The Eagles (2-4, 1-4 Big Sky) snagged momentum behind a 6-0 run at the end of the third set. The Vikings still won the third, 25-22, to go up 2-1 in the match, but the Eagles played their best two sets of the match in the fourth and the fifth off the back of that run.
 
The Eagles took the early advantage in all five sets Sunday. Eastern Washington was the first team to 10 points in every set, even as the Vikings overcame early deficits to win the first and third sets.
 
For the Vikings (1-4, 0-3 Big Sky), it didn't get better than the first set, when they set a season high with 17 kills in the frame behind .333 hitting. Five different Vikings had multiple kills in the set, with Jasmine Powell and Gabby Hollins leading the way with five each.
 
The Vikings recorded 13 kills in each of the next two sets while splitting the pair, though it was the defense that won the Vikings the third set. The Vikings held the Eagles to a match-low .065 hitting in the third, with seven errors against 10 kills. Powell and sophomore libero Ellie Snook each had eight digs in the set, as both players would go on to have 20+ digs in the match.
 
The Vikings overcame early deficits in winning both the first and third sets. In the first, the Vikings trailed 8-5 before out-scoring the Eagles 20-10 the rest of the way. In the third, it was a 7-3 deficit before a 7-0 run in the middle of the frame gave the Vikings a 17-11 lead they would not relinquish.
 
The Vikings tried a similar comeback in the fifth set after falling behind 10-6. A 4-1 run that Parker Webb bookended with a kill and a service ace got the Vikings back within one at 11-10. Powell followed with a kill two points later that made it 12-11 Eagles, while an EWU service error made it 13-12. Back-to-back kills from the Eagles' Sage Brustad ended the match, however, as the Eagles closed out the victory.
 
Powell finished with 17 kills and a season-high 23 digs to lead the Vikings Sunday. Powell's 23 digs marked the sophomore's fourth match with 20+ digs as a Viking, following three such performances as a freshman.
 
Junior Ally Wada continued her streak of double-doubles to open her Viking career, recording her fourth Sunday in four career matches at Portland State. Wada set season highs for both assists and digs, finishing with 46 assists and 17 digs against the Eagles.
 
Snook led all players with 27 digs, and now has gone over 20 digs in all five matches so far this season.
 
The Vikings and Eagles will play each other again Monday at 2 p.m.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings fell to 32-28 all time against the Eagles after Sunday's loss…The Vikings had won six in a row against the Eagles before losing Sunday…The Vikings have never before played four five-set matches in their first five matches…The Vikings also set a program record with three straight five-set matches to open the season.