CORVALLIS, Ore. — Tough serving from Oregon State put a damper on the non-conference finale for the Portland State volleyball team as the Beavers swept the Vikings, 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-17), Friday night at Gill Coliseum.
 
The Beavers (2-7) aced the Vikings (1-10) eight times Friday. That wasn't a true measure of the Beavers' success from the service line, either, as they had several other serves that put the Vikings in distress and led to easy kills.
 
The tough serving helped the Beavers outhit the Vikings .351-to-.113 in the match. The Beavers hit better than .475 in the final two sets, as once they got the ball rolling, it was difficult for the Vikings to stop them.
 
The Vikings were hoping for a better non-conference finale out of Friday's match. They had made strides in their last two matches – a 3-1 win over Butler last Sunday and a competitive match against No. 12 Oregon at home Wednesday – including in their passing.
 
Those strides helped the Vikings start Friday's match with a bit of momentum. The Vikings recorded three blocks in their first nine points while running out to an early 9-7 lead in the first set.
 
The Vikings had a similar start in their breakthrough win over Butler last week. They recorded four blocks in their first eight points of that match and held the Bulldogs to .026 hitting in the opening set.
 
The Beavers were hitting well below .100 at the 9-7 mark of the first set, but that's when they picked up their serving. A 6-1 run that featured an ace from the Beavers' Emma Lilo put them ahead 13-10. Carisa Barron and Reese Biesemeyer combined for a block that got the Vikings back within one at 13-12, but that was as close as the Vikings would get the rest of the way.
 
The Beavers established early leads in both the second and third sets, taking control of both frames en route to the sweep.
 
The Vikings recorded six aces of their own, with all three freshmen contributing to that total. Biesemeyer led the way with a career-high three aces while her classmates Allison Panter and Cali-Jo Shigemasa each contributed one. For Shigemasa, it was her second ace in as many matches after she also recorded one against the Ducks on Wednesday.
 
Elsewhere, Makayla Lewis led the Vikings with six kills, while four other Vikings had five each between Barron, Biesemeyer, Delaney Nicoll and Naomi White. White led the Vikings with four blocks while Nicoll had three.
 
The Vikings will now turn the page to Big Sky Conference play, which opens Thursday, Sept. 26, at Idaho. The Vikings and Vandals will square off in Moscow at 6 p.m.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings had won three in a row against the Beavers before Friday's loss…They still lead the all-time series between them and the Beavers, 35-12, though all but the Vikings' three recent wins came before 1991…Lewis now needs only seven kills to enter the Division I career top 10 at Portland State.
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