SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Progress can be a tough sell to any athlete coming off a loss. But that must be the takeaway for the Portland State volleyball team after a narrow loss to San Diego State amid a hostile environment.
 
The Vikings (0-5) shook off a tough first set to take a 2-1 lead in the match. They even led 18-15 in the fourth set, but then gave up a late comeback and dropped the fifth to fall to the Aztecs, 3-2 (25-10, 21-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-13) at their home tournament, the San Diego State Invitational.
 
"It was our first true road test playing a team in their home gym with a good crowd," head coach Michael Seemann said after Friday's loss. "It was about one-hundred degrees in there so conditions were rough and after a very tenuous first set, we started to settle into a rhythm.
 
"I'm super proud of our effort tonight. We played together as a team. We will continue to build and grow together."
 
The Aztecs (4-1) sprinted out to the early lead in the match, outhitting the Vikings .727-to-.200 in the opening set. They took a 16-11 lead midway through the second set when the Vikings flipped things on their head. The Vikings won nine of the next 10 points in a run that featured two kills each from Makayla Lewis and Carisa Barron. Naomi White combined with Sydney Stenson and Lewis for back-to-back blocks to punctuate the run, giving the Vikings a 20-17 lead.
 
San Diego State put together three straight points to level the set at 20-all, but the Vikings answered with five of six points to close out the set.
 
Lewis and Delaney Nicoll both had four kills in the frame. Nicoll emerged for the Vikings after being held without a kill in the opening set.
 
The Vikings also tinkered with their 6-2 formation, particularly on the right side. Carisa Barron and Sydney Stenson alternated opposite setters Allison Panter and Ella Hartford. Both players responded to their first extensive action on the right. Barron recorded eight kills on .227 hitting in the match, by far her best hitting percentage in any match so far this season.
 
Stenson, meanwhile, didn't play in the opening set but recorded seven kills on .357 hitting over the final four sets of the match.
 
The 6-2 formation also helped steady the Vikings' defense. After the Aztecs hit .727 in the opening set, the Viking defense came alive, particularly at the net where they recorded 9.0 blocks over the final four sets after not recording a single block in the first set. Naomi White set a career high with seven blocks to lead that effort. Stenson added four in her role on the right, while Nicoll had three blocks.
 
The tougher blocking at the net affected the Aztecs' hitting percentages, which dropped to .194 in the second set and .139 in the third.
 
The Vikings appeared poised to close out the match in four when they went up 18-15 midway through the set. White recorded three kills in a four-point stretch, part of nine she had in the match on .471 hitting. Nicoll followed with her 10th kill of the match – securing her first double-double as a Viking – to put the Vikings up three in the set.
 
The Aztecs won eight of the next nine points out of a timeout, however, and eventually closed out the set to force a fifth. They took an early 5-1 lead in the fifth set before the Vikings mounted a comeback of their own. It was still 11-5 SDSU when the Vikings won five of the next six points – with four of those five points coming off kills from freshman middle blocker Reese Biesemeyer – that got the Vikings back within two.
 
SDSU stayed in front to earn three match points at 14-11. Back-to-back blocks wiped away the first two match points with White combining first with Barron, then Stenson on the right to do so. The Aztecs converted on their third match point, however, leaving the Vikings without a reward for their improved effort.
 
The Aztecs finished with a .348-to-.259 advantage over the Vikings in hitting, as they rebounded to hit .400 in the fourth and .471 in the fifth after the Vikings stymied them in the second and third sets.
 
Nicoll and Lewis finished tied for the team lead with 12 kills each. Nicoll added 11 digs, three blocks and an ace to her 12 kills. Hartford also recorded her second straight double-double with 28 assists and 10 digs.
 
Biesmeyer finished with a career-high nine kills on .400 hitting in the match. Panter, another freshman for the Vikings, finished with 19 assists and six digs.
 
So, it was progress for the Vikings Friday night against a San Diego State team that had already swept one Big Sky Conference team in Idaho State earlier this season. The next step will be to get the win.
 
The Vikings get their next chance at that Saturday, as they close out the San Diego State Invitational against DePaul at 12 p.m.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings fell to 1-5 all-time against San Diego State with Friday's loss…San Diego State had six aces through the first set and a half, but then didn't have another while the Vikings eventually out-aced the Aztecs, eight to six…The Vikings have out-blocked three of their five opponents so far this season after they out-blocked SDSU 9.0-to-6.0.
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