PORTLAND, Ore. — Four of six sets the Portland State volleyball team has played against Idaho State this season have been decided by three points or less. The problem for the Vikings is that all four of those have gone to the Bengals.
 
Close-set losses haunted the Vikings (8-19, 7-9 Big Sky) again Saturday night, as they fell in three sets to the Bengals (25-22, 25-18, 25-23) at Viking Pavilion.
 
The Vikings let late leads slip away in the first and third sets against the Bengals (20-8, 11-5 Big Sky). They led 17-12 in the first set before the Bengals used an 8-2 run to edge ahead at 20-19. The Vikings took the lead again at 22-21 after an ace serve from Reese Biesemeyer, but the Bengals scored the final four points of the set to go up 1-0.
 
The Vikings led 20-18 late in the third set after breaking an 18-all tie with a kill from Carisa Barron followed by a block from Biesemeyer and Delaney Nicoll. But the Bengals answered with four straight points to go up by two, then closed out the match a few points later.
 
"It was a very even match. Most of the sets were back and forth with several lead changes. I just wanted another set. I think we had them where we wanted them. This one hurts," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said after the match.
 
Seemann lamented some of the decisions from the Vikings offensively. The Bengals outhit the Vikings .229-to-.139. The .139 mark was killer for the Vikings, who are 0-14 this season when hitting below .200 in a match.
 
The Bengals' defense owes some of the credit for the Vikings' struggles. While the teams finished level at 6.0 blocks apiece – that's low for the Bengals who came in ranked third nationally with 3.01 blocks per set – the Bengals' presence at the net changed several of the Vikings' swings.
 
Seemann noted the number of tips the Vikings put over the net rather than full swings. That was particularly noticeable after the Vikings took their big lead in the first set. Biesemeyer and fellow middle blocker Naomi White had five of the Vikings' first eight kills in the match. But the Bengals adjusted, and those two only recorded three kills over the rest of the match.
 
"I don't know why we were reduced to tipping. I think that was the biggest difference. I thought passing-wise we did pretty well. Usually that breaks down, and that did not tonight. For me, it was just tipping way too much and not getting the looks we wanted," Seemann said of the team's offensive showing.
 
Even still, the Vikings could have won any set Saturday. Besides their late leads in the first and third sets, the Vikings were also tied with the Bengals at 18-all in the second set before the Bengals finished with seven straight points to go up 2-0.
 
Barron and Delaney Nicoll tried to lead the Vikings back in the third set. Both players – two of the six seniors the Vikings honored before the match – recorded five kills in the frame. Nicoll recorded her five kills on .500 hitting, as she continues her return from an injury that held her out from Oct. 4 until Thursday's match against Weber State.
 
Nicoll had the final kill of a 3-0 run that pushed the Vikings ahead 12-9 early in the set. Both Barron and Nicoll then had kills late in the set to get the Vikings back within one. Barron's made it 22-21 Bengals, while Nicoll's made it 23-22.
 
It wasn't enough in the end, of course. Barron finished a kill away from a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs in the final regular-season match of her career. Nicoll recorded seven kills on .429 hitting. Fellow senior Makayla Lewis added seven kills and eight digs to go with two blocks and two aces. Biesemeyer matched Lewis with two aces and two blocks of her own while chipping in six kills on .385 hitting offensively.
 
"Our goal all season has been to be resilient. To play with our hearts and I think we did that. There was no giving up. It wasn't because of lack of effort. I thought the seniors played really, really hard, and the non-seniors played hard for them," Seemann said.
 
The Vikings will now look to re-group ahead of the Big Sky tournament. It'll be a short turnaround for the Vikings, who will face third-seeded Sacramento State in the final match of the quarterfinals Wednesday at 7 p.m.
 
It'll be a difficult environment for the Vikings since Sacramento State will be hosting the tournament after winning last year's regular-season title. But that adversity also gives the Vikings a chance to forge a new identity – something Seemann said after Thursday's match that the Vikings were still looking for.
 
"Going into it, we need to make sure we're prioritizing hitters correctly," Seemann said in looking ahead to the tournament. "It's almost like a reboot. It's like someone took the season away and then went, 'oh, no. We're going to give you one more shot.' We've expanded our roster now to where I feel like I have the ability to adjust. I'm still inspired, even though we lost in three tonight," Seemann said.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings still lead the all-time series between them and the Bengals, 40-29, despite losing Saturday's match…The Vikings honored Barron, Kate Hansen, Ella Hartford, Taylor Hunter, Nicoll and Lewis before the start of the match…Hansen produced a season-high 11 digs on her Senior Day…The Bengals out-dug the Vikings 58-to-40 as a team, however.
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