PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State volleyball team left Viking Pavilion Saturday – after a narrow, 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 25-11, 15-25, 15-9) loss to Oregon State – with mixed feelings. Mixed, because while the Vikings (4-7) were proud to push a second straight in-state powerhouse to five sets – they also pushed Oregon to five sets for the first time since 2010 Friday – they still went 0-2 in those two matches.
Any novelty of pushing a bigger school to five sets had worn off after Friday. The Vikings went into the fifth set against the Beavers (6-4) expecting to win. And while that expectation could be a sign of progress for what's still a young Viking team, the Vikings are eager to see those expectations turn into reality.
They didn't Saturday. Not yet, at least, despite another strong showing against a quality opponent.
"[Oregon State] is a good team that's well balanced, but I feel like we figured out the puzzle early. I know we got a slow start in the first set, but I felt like after the second set, they made a couple of adjustments but nothing that I felt we couldn't necessarily cover," Portland State head coach
Michael Seemann said afterwards.
"We just couldn't get a lot of offense going, which has kind of been our MO recently. We just didn't have kill production. We need distribution. That's what I've been talking about with our players. If we get distribution, then we'll be a good team."
The Vikings showed their mettle in forcing a fifth set against the Beavers. Oregon State dominated the third set against the Vikings, going on a 12-0 run at one point – the longest run against the Vikings this season – en route to a 25-11 set victory. The Beavers outhit the Vikings .450-to-.032 in the frame while recording six of their seven aces in the match.
But the Vikings flushed the poor showing in the third set immediately, winning the first four points of the fourth set to give them a lead they wouldn't relinquish in the frame.
Tyra Schaub led the way for the Vikings in the set, recording six kills on .750 hitting without committing an attack error. The fourth set provided a high point for Schaub in a match full of them for the Viking senior. Schaub tied her career high with 15 total kills while setting career bests in hitting percentage (.433) and digs (16).
"She keeps expanding her game," Seemann said of Schaub. "She's somebody who, when she feels confident, she can put numbers down. I couldn't be more proud of her. This weekend, overall, was great. Tonight, especially, she was good in all aspects of her game. She was the closest thing to a rock for us."
Alivia Eikenberg shook off a difficult third set with four kills on nine swings without committing an attack error in the fourth set.
Reese Biesemeyer added two kills on three swings to go with two blocks.
The Vikings also responded earlier in the match, shaking off a slow start in the first set by winning the second. That's been a feature of most Portland State matches this season. Saturday's match marked the sixth time the Vikings have won the second set after dropping the opener. But the frustrating aspect for Seemann is that the Vikings are just 2-4 in those six matches. Three of those four losses have come in five sets, too, as Saturday did against the Beavers.
"If there are a couple of plays that ignite us, it feels like it fuels our team, which is great. But if we get pinned down for two or three serves, then we all kind of go that way. This whole team moves in one mass, emotionally and also execution wise," Seemann said in explaining his team's ups and downs Saturday.
"I think that is due to not having one or two kids out there who have been here for four years. Because I think they can hold you down, so those momentum swings aren't as drastic."
The Vikings' inconsistency within matches has often extended to the fifth set. The Vikings are just 1-4 in five-set matches now after Saturday's loss. They've trailed early in all four of their five-set losses, with Saturday's match being no different.
The Beavers jumped out to a 7-4 lead midway through the set. While the Vikings came back to tie it at 7-all, the Beavers responded by winning eight of the final 10 points to close out the match.
After hitting .433 with 16 kills in the fourth set, those numbers dropped to six kills on .118 hitting in the fifth set. Conversely, while the Vikings held the Beavers to .125 hitting in the fourth set, they found their stroke again in the fifth, hitting .389.
"Everybody just had nerves. This is where I'm trying to tell the team, 'you guys did all that you could to get to this point, why change your outlook?' That was my speech after the match. We just experienced two five-set losses [this weekend], we have to learn what our mentality was like. We have to identify what we did differently and why, and we have to be better," Seemann said of his team's response within Saturday's fifth set.
The Vikings' offensive numbers mirrored the team's momentum swings in the match. The Vikings hit .433 or better in the two sets they won (.444 in the second, .433 in the fourth), but hit .118 or worse in the three sets they lost.
Schaub led the way offensively with her 15 kills.
Willow Watson added 10 kills on .231 hitting to go with four blocks, while Eikenberg finished with eight kills and 10 digs.
Biesemeyer and
Naomi White both had strong matches out of the middle for the Vikings. White, untouchable at times Saturday, finished with eight kills on .467 hitting and four blocks. Biesemeyer, meanwhile, set or tied season highs for kills (7, tied), blocks (6) and aces (2).
The Vikings finished with 10.0 blocks as a team, matching an Oregon State team that came into the week leading the West Coast Conference in the category.
So, the Vikings took their positives with their negatives Saturday. And while the inconsistency will drive Seemann mad for a couple of days, it's only because he knows the potential of his team heading into the Big Sky Conference play next week.
"I wanted one of these wins [this weekend], but this team continues to show signs of growth. They're definitely taking information in and applying it from scouting reports to the court and also making adjustments as the match goes on. I can't ask for much more from our young players than that. They're applying very, very specific things, and they're learning the level of focus that you need," Seemann said.
"Ultimately, we're a good team. We're putting ourselves in positions to win."
The Vikings open Big Sky play at home, hosting Idaho State at 7 p.m. Thursday. And by then the Vikings will have resolved any mixed feelings from Saturday.
Match Notes:
- The Vikings still lead the all-time series between them and the Beavers, 35-13, despite Saturday's loss.
- While the Vikings are 3-8 in the opening set of matches this season, they're 8-3 in the second set.
- Schaub's double-double of 15 kills and 16 digs marked only the second of her career. The first came earlier this season when she had 13 kills and 11 digs against New Mexico on Sept. 11.
