SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Playing 14 hours after a three-hour match didn't set up well for the Portland State volleyball team Saturday, and the Vikings didn't meet the challenge, falling in three sets to Cal Baptist, 25-15, 25-23, 25-23, at the Santa Clara Mission Classic.
 
A five-set loss to San Francisco that finished after 9 p.m. last night seemed to carry over for the Vikings (1-5). It didn't help that Friday night's match came about an hour further up in the Bay Area at USF's War Memorial at The Sobrato Center, while Saturday's match took place at Santa Clara's Leavey Center.
 
But the Vikings (1-5) have no one to blame but themselves. A sluggish opening set against the Lancers (2-4) got the Vikings off on the wrong foot, before close losses in the second and third sets closed out the match.
 
"Simply put, we did not value this opportunity to play a solid team at a neutral site," Portland State head coach Michael Seemann said afterwards.
 
The Lancers took advantage, outhitting the Vikings .345-to-.094 in a dominant opening set. CBU went on to outhit the Vikings .256-to.134 in the match while their No. 1 option, Emery DeJong, had her way with the Viking defense, recording 19 kills on .429 hitting.
 
The Vikings tried to fire up the engine with a big run at the start of the second set. After CBU won the first three points of the set, the Vikings took nine of the next 11 to build a 9-5 lead. The run included two service aces from Sydney Stenson and Allison Panter, while the Vikings would add a third from Alivia Eikenberg that made it 11-8.
 
Stenson recorded back-to-back aces to give the Vikings a 19-14 lead later in the set, but momentum shifted towards the Lancers after that. A kill from Brenna Coffman gave the Vikings a 21-17 lead, before CBU won eight of the final 10 points in the set to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Vikings again led early in the third set, going up 6-2 after Eikenberg recorded her second ace of the match. The Lacers responded, going in front 17-15 with a 4-0 run midway through the set.
 
The Vikings made a final push late in the set, tying it at 23-all behind a kill from Stenson and a solo block from Naomi White. But a service error out of a timeout gave the Lancers match point, and they'd convert right away, forcing a PSU attack error.
 
Service errors hurt the Vikings throughout Saturday's match. The Vikings committed 15 as a team – five per set – snuffing out several potential runs for the team.
 
Alivia Eikenberg led the Vikings with eight kills to go with six digs, three blocks and two aces.
 
Stenson added six kills to go with five digs, four blocks and three aces.
 
White and Willow Watson – two key pieces in the Vikings' victory over Long Beach State Thursday – were held to just one kill each through the opening two sets. White still led all players with five blocks in the match.
 
The Vikings will get a second chance at the Lancers next week as they head to CBU for The Joust Tournament, Sept. 11-13. The Vikings open the tournament against New Mexico at 2 p.m. on Sept. 11, before facing host Cal Baptist at 6 p.m. on Sept. 12.
 
The Vikings will hope for a better showing against the Lancers then. Seemann would love to see his team relish the opportunity.
 
Match Notes:

• Saturday's match was the first meeting between Portland State and Cal Baptist since Sept. 1, 1994.
• The Lancers tied the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 1-1.
• Coffman had a career-high four kills on .429 hitting to go with four blocks in the match.

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