LONG BEACH, Calif. — The Portland State volleyball team handled a high-powered UCLA attack well Friday night at the Long Beach State Tournament, but the 18th-ranked Bruins still got the upper hand, beating the Vikings in a defensive battle, 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-16).
 
The Vikings (1-3) held the Bruins (3-0) to under .200 hitting for the match, but the Bruins still outhit the Vikings .185 to negative-.085. Both teams hit in the negative in the first set, but five aces and eight blocks from UCLA helped them take an early lead that they would not relinquish.
 
"We actually held them to a respectable hitting percentage. Defensively, we just produced some opportunities that we didn't convert. They also won the serve and pass game," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said afterwards.
 
"I told the team after the match that we are a capable, talented team, but we have to play as a team, and when faced with failure, we have to keep looking forward."
 
The Vikings held UCLA's Mac May – a two-time Second-Team AVCA All-American – to only six kills on .235 hitting Friday. Additionally, élan McCall – an All-Pac-12 selection last season – only had four kills on .095 hitting against the Vikings, while Lexi Hadrych's team-high seven kills came on only .158 hitting.
 
Still, the Bruins found their stroke more in the second and third sets, hitting .300 or better in both frames as they shut the door on the Vikings.
 
Portland State actually took an early lead in the first set, going up 6-2, but the Bruins out-scored the Vikings 23-8 the rest of the way. The Vikings also led 5-2 early in the third set, but a 7-0 UCLA run a little later gave the Bruins the lead for good. 
 
Zoe McBride led the Vikings with five kills to go with nine digs. Gabby Hollins and Genevieve Florig followed with four kills each, while Florig added a team-high five blocks. Parker Webb was the only other Viking to record more than one kill with three in the match.
 
Ellie Snook posted a match-high 16 digs for the Vikings, 10 of which came in the third set alone. Snook, who was the Big Sky Libero of the Year last season and entered this weekend leading the Big Sky in digs per set, upped her season average to 5.15 d/s after Friday.
 
The Vikings will play a final match at the LBSU tournament tomorrow, when they face host Long Beach State at 5 p.m.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings fell to 0-2 all-time against the Bruins following Friday's match…The Vikings and Bruins hadn't played since 1980 before facing each other Friday…The Bruins were the second Pac-12 team and second ranked team the Vikings have played this season, as the Vikings also played No. 14 Oregon to open their season on Aug. 27.