Portland State University Athletics

OGDEN, Utah — The Portland State volleyball team saved two set points to steal the opening set Thursday against Weber State. But the Wildcats recovered to win the next three and beat the Vikings, 3-1 (24-26, 25-15, 25-19, 25-22), at Swenson Gym.
 
The Vikings (5-9, 1-2) used 15 of their 18 players in the match, while five different players recorded at least six kills.
 
But despite the deep bench, the Vikings struggled to balance offense with defense against the Wildcats (9-4, 2-1). When they were in their more defensive lineup, the Viking offense struggled, hitting less than .200 in the opening three sets. But when the Vikings shifted to a more offensive lineup in the fourth set, Weber State picked up its own attack with 17 kills on .400 hitting in the frame.
 
It's the dance head coach Michael Seemann expected going into the season with 12 underclassmen on its 18-player roster. But the Vikings would still hope to find the right balance soon.
 
They were at their best in the first set when they out-killed the Wildcats 20-to-11. Five different players recorded at least three kills in the opening set, while no one had more than five. The Vikings also showed some mettle late in the set when the Wildcats earned two set points at 24-22. The Vikings saved the first by inducing an attack error, while Ashley Repetti erased the other with a kill. Back-to-back kills from Willow Watson, then, gave the Vikings the opening set.
 
The Vikings played the entirety of the first set in a 5-1. That helped the Viking defense hold Weber State to just 11 kills on .190 hitting in the frame. But it became an offensive liability quickly in the second set when the Vikings only recorded eighth kills on .069 hitting. No Viking had more than one kill outside of Maryn Hall, who subbed on for the first time in the frame and recorded four kills on .500 hitting.
 
The Vikings struggled offensively again in the third set – hitting negative-.026 in the frame with no player finishing with more than two kills – and yet they still had a good chance to go up 2-1. They made up a three-point deficit to tie the Wildcats at 18- and 19-all. Katarina Kosic had two key kills during the stretch as the Vikings switched to a 6-2 formation. But the Wildcats won the final six points in the set, four on kills, to claim the lead.
 
The Vikings finally took an early lead in the fourth set, going up 12-8 behind three early kills from Hall. But the Wildcats won seven of 10 points to get back level, then pushed ahead with three straight points to go up 22-19. The teams traded points from there as the Wildcats closed out the match.
 
Hall led the Vikings with 12 kills on .348 hitting to go with two aces. Repetti (8), Alivia Eikenberg (7) and Watson (7) followed behind her.
 
Blascziek recorded her third straight double-double with 34 assists and 14 digs to go with three blocks and two aces.
 
Reese Biesemeyer followed up her career-high 10.0 blocks last Saturday against Southern Utah with 8.0 blocks (two solo) against the Wildcats. Weber State – one of the best blocking teams in the Big Sky Conference and NCAA – out-blocked the Vikings, 12.0-to-9.0, as a team, however.
 
The Vikings will return to action Saturday when they play at Idaho State. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. MT.
 
MATCH NOTES:

• The Vikings still lead the all-time series between and Wildcats, 41-28. The Wildcats have won the last two meetings.
• The Vikings lost after winning the opening set for only the second time this season. They're still 5-2 this season when winning the first set versus 0-7 when they don't.
• Hall now has two matches with 12+ kills and .300+ hitting in the same match. The first came against Nevada, when she set career highs for kills (13) and hitting percentage (.385).

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