PORTLAND, Ore. — A quick turnaround from an emotional win over previously unbeaten Grand Canyon didn't seem to faze the Portland State volleyball team Saturday, but a talented and fresher UTEP team still made them pay while beating the Vikings, 3-1 (28-26, 25-20, 24-26, 25-20), on the final day of the PDX Classic.
Every set between the Vikings (3-5) and Miners (8-1) could have gone either way. The Vikings had four set points in the first set, but the Miners saved all four to steal the early lead in the match. The second set was similarly tight, while the Vikings erased a 23-19 deficit late in the third set to win 26-24 and force a fourth. A late, 4-0 run then gave the Vikings a 20-19 lead in the fourth set, but the Miners won the final six points to close out the match.
"I thought we put ourselves in position to win in each set, but we need to handle our first contact better, especially late in sets," Portland State head coach
Michael Seemann said of the match afterwards. "When we were in system, we did a great job of executing. We simply were not there enough."
The Miners made it difficult on the Vikings, as they represented one of the toughest serving teams the Vikings have faced, and maybe will face, this season. UTEP came into the weekend ranked second in Conference USA and 11th in the nation with 2.21 aces per set.
Despite that, the Vikings still hit over .240 for the third straight match, as the Viking offense continued its breakout weekend. The Vikings came into the PDX Classic hitting just .084 as a team, and had only topped .200 once in their first five matches of the season. That wasn't the offense Viking fans saw this weekend, however, as the Vikings hit .248 Thursday against the University of Portland, .242 Friday against Grand Canyon, and .241 Saturday against UTEP.
Setter
Ally Wada helped orchestrate the Viking offense to its resurgent weekend, as she posted her third straight double-double Saturday. Wada finished with 42 assists and 11 digs while adding five kills on .444 hitting against the Miners. That followed a career-high 62 assists for Wada Friday, when she also had 13 digs and three blocks against Grand Canyon.
Hitters
Makayla Lewis and
Parker Webb also extended their strong weekends with solid matches against the Miners Saturday. Lewis finished a kill away from a second straight double-double, as she posted nine kills to go with 10 digs. Lewis had 25 kills on .302 hitting to go with 12 digs Friday night against Grand Canyon, and finished with 19 kills on .333 hitting Thursday against Portland.
Webb, meanwhile, was a dig away from a second straight double-double with 14 kills and nine digs against the Miners. Webb had a monster game against Grand Canyon Friday, posting 22 kills on .383 hitting to go with 14 digs. Webb also had 14 kills on .371 hitting Thursday against the Pilots.
Sophomore
Gabby Hollins tied Webb for the team high in Saturday's match, as she finished with 14 kills on .303 hitting against the Miners. It was the second straight solid match from Hollins, who came off the bench Friday to post 16 kills and 15 digs in the Vikings' win over Grand Canyon.
Hollins and Webb both totaled five kills in the first set, as the Vikings came so close to taking a big early lead in the match. The Vikings won 11 of 12 points in the middle of the first set, turning a 12-7 deficit into an 18-13 lead. Hollins had two kills and two blocks in the run, combining with PSU grad transfer
Genevieve Florig on both blocks.
The Miners responded by winning the next four points to tighten things again, and then erased four set points a little later to steal the set, 28-26.
The Vikings got a dose of revenge in the third set, when they flipped a late 23-19 deficit into a 26-24 set win. Redshirt freshman
Sydney Rabe kickstarted the run with a kill, then combined with Lewis for back-to-back blocks that brought the Vikings within one at 23-22. Webb and Lewis followed with back-to-back kills, before Webb closed out the match with two straight kills.
Hollins came up big again in the fourth set, as she led the Vikings with five kills on .571 hitting in the frame. It wasn't enough in another tight set, however, as the Miners erased a late 20-19 deficit while scoring the final six points of the match.
The Vikings remain home for another tournament next weekend, as they host North Dakota State and Gonzaga for the Les Schwab Rose City Showdown, Sept. 17-19. The Vikings open the tournament Friday, the 17th, when they host North Dakota State at 7 p.m.
Match Notes: The Vikings still lead the all-time series between them and UTEP, 3-2, despite losing Saturday's match…Lewis and Webb were named to the PDX Classic All-Tournament Team after the match…Lewis averaged 4.08 kills and 2.31 digs per set while hitting .238 at the tournament…Webb averaged 3.85 kills and 2.31 digs per set while hitting .328 over the weekend…Wada averaged 10.4 assists and 2.69 digs per set over all three matches at the PDX Classic.
