BERKELEY, Calif. — The Portland State volleyball team might want this one back. The Vikings gave up big leads in the first and third sets as Cal stole both en route to a 3-1 win (25-23, 13-25, 25-22, 25-18) over the Vikings at Haas Pavilion.
The Vikings led 19-10 in the first set and 15-8 in the second set, only to see the Bears erase both leads. Outside of those two runs – a 15-4 Cal finish to the first set and a 7-0 run in the middle of the third set that tied it up at 15-all – the Vikings controlled much of the first three sets.
So, while the Vikings (3-2) will lament the loss to the Bears (4-0), the fact that they feel they should have had a match against a Pac-12 team gives them a silver lining.
"I can't be sure how good Cal is or will be, but I am certain that we will be a very good team," Portland State head coach Michael Seeman said after the match. "We just can be more opportunistic in moments when we create predictability."
Friday night's match against the Bears was the Vikings' second of the day, after they swept Southern Utah earlier Friday. Cal, meanwhile, was playing their only match of the day.
The Vikings can be especially proud of how their defense played against a line of Pac-12 hitters from the Bears. The Vikings held the Bears to just .143 hitting and forced them to rely largely on one hitter, reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Maggie Li, who led all players with 20 kills in the match.
At the net, the Vikings matched the season high for blocks they set earlier in the day against Southern Utah with nine against the Bears. Senior
Ashleigh Barto, who had five blocks against Southern Utah, led the way again with an individual season high of six (two solo).
Additionally, three different Vikings recorded double-digit digs in the match between
Sophia Meyers (14 digs),
VaiLin Tagaloa (14 digs) and
Paige Stepaniuk (13).
The other aspect that was encouraging for Seemann was the play of the team's youth. Stepaniuk handled herself well against Cal's group of Pac-12 attackers despite still being only five matches into her collegiate career. Fellow freshman
Devon DeNecochea also got in her first match of the season, recording a kill that snapped a 6-0 run for the Bears in the fourth set.
When DeNecochea came in, she and true sophomore
Kendra Duffey were the Vikings' two front-line players on the right and left, respectively. That in and of itself showed the Vikings' confidence in their younger players.
"We went deep into our depth, and each player contributed in a positive way," Seemann said. "In front of at least 500 fans, I consider that an investment in the strength of this team for the future."
The Vikings not only flashed their depth Friday, but also their resiliency. Immediately after dropping the first set following Cal's big comeback, the Vikings opened the second set with back-to-back aces from
Ella Hartford. A 10-3 stretch later in the set saw the Vikings go up 18-9, and they stayed on the front foot this time to cruise to a 25-13 set victory.
The Vikings also didn't wilt in the fourth set after their disappointment in the third. The Vikings led 12-10 early on and then responded with a 3-0 run after Cal had pushed ahead at 19-15. The final momentum swing belonged to Cal, though, as they closed out the match with six straight points, the first three of which came on kills from Li.
The Bears' final run meant they edged ahead of the Vikings in hitting percentage (.143-to-.131) and kills (46-to-43). Otherwise, the teams were even on blocks (9.0-to-9.0) and aces (7-to-7), while the Vikings out-dug the Bears by one (71-to-70).
Individually, Meyers finished with her second double-double of the day, adding a team-high 12 kills to her 14 digs. Meyers also recorded three aces in the match, the third time out of five matches this season that she's recorded multiple aces.
Tagaloa, meanwhile, recorded the first double-double of her career, totaling 19 assists to go with her 14 digs. She and Hartford (15 assists, nine digs) also found the team's right-side hitters better than they have so far this season. Powell set a season high with eight kills in the match, while Duffey (four kills) and DeNecochea (one kill) added another five.
Additionally,
Lauryn Anderson recorded six kills on her first seven attempts in the match while finishing at .600 for the match.
The Vikings get an immediate opportunity to bounce back, as they stay in the Bay Area for a match at Saint Mary's Saturday at 2 p.m. Win that, and the Vikings will win the weekend and finish 2-1 for the second straight week.
Match Notes: The Vikings fell to 2-5 all time against the Bears with Friday's loss…Friday was only the second time the Vikings and Bears have played since 1986…Hartford's two aces Friday marked her second match with multiple aces this season…The Vikings have recorded at least seven aces in each of their last four matches.
