SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Portland State volleyball team knew it'd have to play the role of spoiler Wednesday night in its Big Sky quarterfinal match against tournament host Sacramento State. Through a set, it looked like the Vikings were ready for that role as they held Sacramento State to under .100 hitting while taking the opener, 25-23.
 
But the Hornets (19-11) found their groove from there, winning the next three sets to eliminate the Vikings (8-20) from the Big Sky tournament with a 3-1 victory (23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-19) at The Nest. The loss ends the season for the Vikings.
 
The opening-set win was particularly promising for a Viking team that struggled to slow a potent Sacramento State offense during the regular season. The Hornets hit .421 against the Vikings in their first meeting at The Nest this season on Oct. 4, then hit .255 at Viking Pavilion on Oct. 18. The Hornets won both matches comfortably.
 
But Wednesday, the Viking defense came out hot with four blocks in the opening set. The Hornets committed 11 attack errors in the frame, more than they had over their entire first match against the Vikings when they only committed 10.
 
The Vikings only had 10 kills in the opening set but got them efficiently, hitting .276. Carisa Barron recorded three of her team-high 10 kills in the set while hitting .429 in the frame. Naomi White, Reese Biesemeyer and Devon DeNecochea all had two kills each while hitting .429 or better.
 
Biesemeyer went on to produce one of the most balanced matches of the season for any Viking player. She finished with eight kills on .438 hitting in the match to go with career highs for blocks (6) and aces (5).
 
The Hornets righted themselves after the opening set, however. By the 12-6 mark of the second set, they were already outhitting the Vikings in the match as they hit .343 in the second frame.
 
The Hornets jumped out to a 14-9 lead in the third set when the Vikings found their stride again with a 5-0 run that leveled the set. Biesemeyer had one of her five aces during that 5-0 run, while Barron and Makayla Lewis had a kill each.
 
It was still tied at 16-all when the teams started trading runs late in the set. They traded 3-0 runs to make it 19-all, with the Vikings scoring off kills from Barron and Delaney Nicoll, and an ace from Paige Stepaniuk. The Hornets went ahead again with a 4-0 run, but the Vikings immediately responded with three straight points to draw within one at 23-22. Biesemeyer and DeNecochea recorded back-to-back blocks on the opening two points of the run.
 
The Hornets grabbed the final swing of momentum, however, scoring the final two points of the set on a kill and a block.
 
The defense stepped up again for the Vikings in the fourth set. Back-to-back blocks gave the Vikings a 10-6 lead early in the set. That gave the Vikings 12.0 blocks as a team in the match, their third-highest total in a match this season.
 
But that would be it for the Vikings as the Hornets claimed 17 of the next 22 points to take control and close out the match.
 
The Vikings never had the offense to match their defense Wednesday. While they held the Hornets to .214 hitting, below their season average, the Vikings hit just .097 themselves. They didn't top .100 in any set besides the first.
 
The Vikings produced as best they could against tough odds Wednesday. Even as they took the opening set, the Vikings were trying to do several things they had never done before at the Big Sky tournament. Namely, the Vikings had never won a match as the sixth seed or lower at the conference tournament. Additionally, they hadn't beaten Sacramento State on their home court at the tournament, and had never beaten any tournament host on its home court.
 
Against those odds, several of the Viking seniors produced in their last collegiate match. Barron finished with a team-high 10 kills to go with seven digs. Lewis finished a kill short of a double-double with nine kills and 11 digs. Setter Ella Hartford recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 25 assists and 10 digs. Nicoll added 11 digs while playing as a back-row sub.
 
The Vikings also got several key performances from their young players, who will now take over the program going forward. Biesemeyer, a freshman, led that with her career match, but White added three kills and six blocks herself, while her sophomore classmate DeNecochea chipped in three kills and five blocks. Stepaniuk, another sophomore, totaled eight digs, three assists and two aces.
 
So, the future is bright for the Vikings, even if their present season came to an end Wednesday against the Hornets.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings fell to 28-54 all-time against the Hornets with Wednesday's loss…The Vikings are now 2-3 against the Hornets at the Big Sky tournament with all three of their losses coming when the Hornets have hosted the tournament…The Vikings are now 11-17 all-time at the Big Sky tournament against all opponents.
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