MORAGA, Calif. — Playing a second straight true road match – a rarity sometimes in the tournament-heavy volleyball preseason – the Portland State Vikings fell in four sets to an unbeaten Saint Mary's team.
The Vikings (3-3) took the opening set from the Gaels (5-0) at University Credit Union Pavilion, but then lost three sets in a row to drop a second straight 3-1 decision (21-25, 25-19, 25-13, 26-24). The Vikings also played Cal in the Bears' home gym Friday, when the Vikings led big in each of the first three sets but still fell in four.
"This was our first real road trip, and we played two solid teams in their home gyms," Portland State head coach
Michael Seemann said of the team's matches against Cal and Saint Mary's this weekend.
Saturday's match saw the Vikings play close sets with the Gaels in the first two frames. The two sets broke either way with the Vikings using a late run to take the first set before the Gaels did the same in the second. In the first set, the Gaels led 19-17 when a 4-0 PSU run flipped the set in the Vikings' favor.
Kendra Duffey capped the 4-0 run with a pair of kills, then added a third to kickstart another 4-0 run that closed out the set.
Duffey was one of several young Vikings that Seemann worked into the lineup Saturday, after doing the same thing Friday night against Cal. The hope for Seemann and the Vikings is that going to their bench early in the season will prepare those young players to be contributors or change-of-pace players later in the season.
"We went deep into our roster and several players took on much bigger roles, and that is a huge positive for this team," Seemann said. "We can take this experience and grow as individuals and as a team."
Still, no Viking was very effective in the middle two sets against the Gaels. After the Vikings hit .270 in the first set, they hit just .049 in the second set, then .000 in the third as the Gaels built their 2-1 lead.
The offense returned for the Vikings in the fourth set when they recorded 17 kills on .293 hitting.
Sophia Meyers came alive for the Vikings in the fourth, recording seven of her team-high 13 kills on .500 hitting in the set.
Ashleigh Barto also had four of her nine kills in the fourth set while hitting .500 from the middle.
The resurgent offense saw the Vikings overcome an early deficit to nearly force a fifth set. The Gaels led 10-4 early on when Seemann took a timeout. It was still a 14-9 Saint Mary's lead when the Vikings started to come alive. Two kills from newcomer
Delaney Nicoll capped a 4-0 PSU run that saw the Vikings get back within one at 14-13.
The teams traded points from there until a block between freshman
Naomi White and
Jasmine Powell tied it up at 18-all. Saint Mary's edged ahead again at 20-18, then took a 23-21 lead after the Vikings came back to tie it at 20-all.
Barto responded with back-to-back kills to level the set at 23-all. A PSU service error gave the Gaels match point from there, but the Vikings erased that with a combo block between Barto and Duffey. The Gaels answered back with two straight kills, however, to close out the match.
Meyers ended with the team leads in both kills (13) and digs (17) while hitting .323 and recording the team's lone ace of the match. Meyers recorded double-doubles in all three matches this weekend, and is now averaging 3.62 kills and 3.67 digs per set through the Vikings' first six matches of the season.
Gabby Hollins added 10 kills for the Vikings while Barto added nine to go with a team-high five blocks.
The truest display of how much the Vikings went to their bench, though, is that 11 different players recorded at least one kill in Saturday's match. Duffey was one of those, of course, as she finished with a career-high seven kills. White and fellow freshman
Devon DeNecochea contributed three kills between them, as two other young players in action Saturday. Sophomore
Danica Wulf also had a kill while playing in the third set.
The Gaels still posted big advantages in hitting percentage (.295-to-.167), blocks (15.0-to-8.0) and aces (7-to-1), but the use of the young players shows Seemann had an eye beyond just Saturday's match.
Of course, the hope would be that Saturday's experience pays off sooner rather than later, maybe even as soon as the Vikings' next match when they host Utah in a rare midweek, midday game Tuesday. First serve between the Vikings and Utes is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Viking Pavilion.
Match Notes: The Vikings fell to 2-2 all time against the Gaels with Saturday's loss…Saturday's match was the first meeting between the Gaels and Vikings since 2000…The Vikings' single ace in the match was a new season low…The Vikings had come into the weekend ranked seventh in the NCAA with 2.70 aces per set, and had recorded at least seven aces in four straight matches before the Gaels held them to one.
