SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Portland State volleyball team remains limited to flashes of brilliance. The Vikings showed some again Saturday, pushing a DePaul team that's coming off an appearance in the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship last season, but still fell 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 26-24) in their final match at the San Diego State Invitational.
 
The flashes were reflected in the series of runs the teams traded throughout Saturday's match at Aztec Court. In the second set, for instance, the Vikings (0-6) used a 3-0 run to go up 9-8. DePaul (5-1) answered with six straight points to go up 14-9, but then the Vikings responded with three straight to get back within two.
 
It was the same later in the set when DePaul won four of five to go up 18-13. The Vikings responded with four straight points – the last three all coming from Makayla Lewis between two kills and a solo block – to get back within one.
 
The third set followed a similar script. After DePaul won 11 of 13 points to seemingly take command, up 14-7, the Vikings got back within two with a 7-2 run that featured two kills from Sydney Stenson and two combo blocks from Naomi White and Delaney Nicoll.
 
The Blue Demons eventually earned five match points at 24-19, only to see the Vikings save all five points to get to 24-all. White had two kills and another combo block with Nicoll during the run. But DePaul answered with back-to-back points on a PSU attack error and kill from Jill Pressly to close out the match.
 
The streaky play meant the Vikings could never get past the Blue Demons late in a set, only match them. Stiffer defense earlier in the match could have helped the Vikings. DePaul was hitting well over .300 through the first two and a half sets before the Vikings found their groove late.
 
The Viking defense held the Blue Demons to.070 hitting in the third set while recording three of their eight blocks in the frame. White led the Vikings with four blocks, while Nicoll and freshman Reese Biesemeyer both had three each.
 
The Viking offense, meanwhile, nearly matched the Blue Demons in kills (43-to-40), but didn't hit better than .200 in any set while being outhit .218-to-.153 for the match.
 
Even with a few too many errors, the Vikings got at least five kills from five different players Saturday. White led the Vikings with 11 kills on .240 hitting. Lewis also went into double figures with 10 kills on .238 hitting. Nicoll, Stenson and Biesemeyer then followed with five kills each. Ella Hartford distributed 25 assists to go with seven digs.
 
Saturday's loss follows a narrow defeat to host San Diego State Friday. The Vikings led two sets to one in that match before falling in five sets. The Vikings also played a close match Thursday night, losing two deuce sets to Tulane in a 3-0 defeat.
 
All three of those matches – despite the losses – had moments for the Vikings. They just need to put more of those moments together to get their first win of the season.
 
That'll be the agenda ahead of them next week in practice before they head to the GCU Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz., Sept. 13-15.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings and Blue Demons are now 1-1 in the all-time series between each other…The Vikings are 0-8 in sets decided by two points this season after Saturday's loss.
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