EUGENE, Ore. — The Portland State volleyball team found its way into its match against No. 14 Oregon after a tough first set, but the highly ranked Ducks proved too much for the Vikings as they won 3-0 (25-9, 25-16, 25-14) Friday in both teams' season opener at Matthew Knight Arena.
 
Blocking and serving put the Vikings (0-1) behind the eight ball against the Ducks (1-0) in the first. The Ducks out-blocked the Vikings 7-0, and out-aced them 5-0 to run away with the first set. Those numbers changed in the second set, however, when the Ducks held narrower, 3-2 advantages in both categories.
 
"When we gave ourselves a good first contact and an opportunity to play at the net, I thought we did a good job of being aggressive and finding outside hands and also some good blocking lines," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said afterwards. "But I think that being off-balance in serve receive really hurt us. It didn't allow us to play at the net and with the attack potency that we need to against this team."
 
The fight the Vikings showed illustrated the competition Seemann and his coaches tried to infuse in their fall camp. 
 
"We tried to commit to not folding and I don't believe we did. At times it may have felt a little deflating, but we put new people in and they came in and performed and got after it," Seemann said of his team.
 
"I think it was an awesome first match. I mean, I don't like to lose, but it was certainly a good experience for us to take the serious pressure. We can learn a lot from this and get better."
 
The improvement helped the Vikings stay level with the Ducks early in the second and third sets. A solo block from fifth-year senior Maddy Reeb drew the Vikings even at 10-10 in the second set, as the Vikings erased what had been a 6-2 early lead for the Ducks. Another kill and service ace from Reeb, sandwiched around an Ashleigh Barto kill, made it 13-13 in the second set, before the Ducks took control again with a 9-0 run.
 
The Vikings led 4-2 early in the third set behind two early kills from senior Zoe McBride. It was still only 10-9 Oregon after Reeb strung together a kill and a service ace back-to-back. The Ducks caught fire after that, however, as a 6-1 run gave them a 16-10 advantage, while a 7-2 run a little later closed it out.
 
The Ducks remained the more efficient team throughout Friday's match despite the Vikings' improvements after the first set. The Ducks hit .286 or better in every set, while the Vikings hit only .032 in their best set of the match, the second set. The Ducks' physicality and strength at the net also gave them a significant advantage, as they out-blocked the Vikings 14.5-to-2.0 despite the Vikings playing better after the first set.
 
McBride led the Viking offense with seven kills while adding nine digs. Parker Webb chipped in four kills and six digs, while Reeb finished with three kills, two aces and two blocks. Junior libero Ellie Snook led the Viking defense with 10 digs.
 
The Vikings won't face a ranked team again this weekend as they turn to a neutral-site match Saturday against Santa Clara. The Vikings and Broncos start their match at 11 a.m. Saturday in Eugene, while the Vikings return home the next day to host San Jose State Sunday at 12 p.m.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings still lead the all-time series between them and the Ducks, 27-22, despite Friday's loss…The Ducks have won the last eight meetings between them and the Vikings, as well as 11 of their last 12…Snook needs only nine more digs to tie and 10 more to pass Diana Villalpando (2007-10) for seventh in the Division I history of the Vikings' program.