PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State volleyball erased big deficits in the first and fourth sets, but then couldn't complete the comeback either time as Idaho State beat the Vikings, 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23), Thursday night at Viking Pavilion.
 
It's only the second time the Vikings have lost at Viking Pavilion this season, while it snapped a five-match home winning streak for the Vikings that included victories over Pac-12 programs Utah and Oregon State, as well as a win over defending Big Sky champion Northern Colorado.
 
The loss extends a tough stretch for the Vikings (10-7, 3-3 Big Sky), who have now dropped three of their last four matches after starting the season 9-4. The Vikings have failed to hit better than .150 in any of their three recent losses. In Thursday night's match, the Bengals (4-13, 2-4 Big Sky) held the Vikings to .139 hitting while hitting .250 themselves.
 
The .139 mark was the Vikings' second-lowest hitting percentage in any match this season. They never hit better than .200 in any set, while Idaho State topped .200 in all four sets.
 
It was a surprising reversal from the Vikings' and Bengals' first match against each other this season. The Vikings won that one, 3-1, on the road, as they hit .360 or better in the third and fourth sets of the match.
 
The big advantage for the Vikings the last time they faced the Bengals was their serving. The Vikings out-aced the Bengals 10-to-3 the first time around, but Thursday night, the teams matched each other with five aces each.
 
Even still, the Vikings could have pulled out the match Thursday if a few points went differently here or there. Particularly, If the Vikings had completed their comeback in the first set, it could have been an entirely different match.
 
The Bengals jumped out to a 19-7 lead in the first set, only to see the Vikings win 15 of the next 17 points to go up 22-21. The Vikings scored six straight on freshman Paige Stepaniuk's serve to take their late lead, with Sophia Meyers and Gabby Hollins providing kills on the final two points of the run. But the Bengals snapped the run and scored the final four points of the frame to go up 1-0 in the match.
 
The Vikings made a similar run in the second set, even if they didn't take a lead in the set. The Bengals led 23-13 when the Vikings scored six straight on Hollins' serve to get back within four. Once again, though, the Bengals rebounded to close out the set and take a 2-0 lead.
 
The Vikings finally took an early lead in the third set when Lauryn Anderson aced the Bengals to give the Vikings an early 5-2 lead in the frame. The Vikings led by four at 13-9 when Delaney Nicoll put down her second kill of the frame. The Bengals tied it back up at 17-all, but the Vikings never relinquished the lead as Meyers closed out a 25-23 set victory with a kill.
 
The Vikings took another early lead in the fourth set, as two aces for Ella Hartford in a 4-0 run gave them a 6-2 advantage. The Bengals answered with a 5-0 run to go up 8-7, however, while a subsequent 6-1 run gave them a firm grasp on the set, leading 18-12.
 
And yet, the Vikings came back again. Six straight points gave the Vikings a 20-19 lead, with Hollins contributing two kills and a combo block with Ashleigh Barto during the run. The teams then traded two-point runs, before Hollins tied it up again at 23-all with a kill. A PSU net error far from the play gave the Bengals match point, and they'd convert on their first chance to close out the win.
 
Hollins finished with a match-high 15 kills to go with seven digs. Meyers finished with 14 kills and 12 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Delaney Nicoll also finished in double figures as she recorded 10 kills on .200 hitting to go with seven digs and four blocks.
 
All told, the Vikings tried to spread the ball around against the Bengals, as four different Vikings finished with at least 30 attempts. The Vikings were too error prone to make the distribution effective, however, as they finished with 32 attack errors, 14 of which came off Idaho State blocks.
 
The Vikings will have to play better Saturday, as they take on a Weber State team that handed Sacramento State its first conference loss of the season via a 3-0 road sweep Thursday. The Wildcats now sit tied with Sacramento State and Montana State atop the Big Sky standings.
 
First serve between the Vikings and Wildcats is set for 7 p.m. Saturday.
 
Match Notes: Thursday's loss snaps a six-match win streak for the Vikings over the Bengals…The Vikings still lead the all-time series between them and the Bengals, 40-27, despite Thursday's loss…Setter Madison Friebel finished with her fourth double-double of the season with 29 assists and 10 digs.
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