Portland State University Athletics

DEKALB, Ill. — The Portland State volleyball team dropped its opening two matches at the NIU Invitational Friday, falling in straight sets to Lindenwood and in four sets to host Northern Illinois.
 
The Vikings (1-4) were outhit in both matches. Lindenwood (3-1) outhit the Vikings .303-to-.169, while Northern Illinois (2-3) outhit the Vikings .241-to-.147.
 
The Vikings remain in hunt for pairings that work as they try to integrate six freshmen and 12 underclassmen on an 18-player roster that is deep on talent but short on experience. PSU played 15 different players in both matches, while 17 of the team's 18 players saw action at some point Friday.
 
The Vikings will conclude the tournament Saturday when they play Murray State at 12:30 p.m. PT / 2:30 p.m. CT.
 
Match #1, Lindenwood 3, Portland State 0
The Vikings got out to a hot start against the Lions. A 5-0 PSU run that featured two aces for Elisabeth Levick gave the Vikings a 10-5 lead. But in a blink, the Lions led 17-15.
 
Brenna Coffman put the Vikings back in front at 21-20 with a kill and a block. But the Lions responded with a 5-0 run to close out the opening set. The Vikings then quickly fell behind in the second set and didn't lead at all in the third.
 
The Lions held the Vikings to only nine kills in the first and third sets. The Viking offense was better in the second, recording 12 kills on .267 hitting, but the Lions countered with 18 kills of their own on .405 hitting.
 
Willow Watson led the Vikings with six kills on .417 hitting. Reese Biesemeyer and Coffman had five kills each on .500 and .364 hitting, respectively.
 
Paige Stepaniuk and Maryn Hall led the Vikings with eight digs each.
 
Match #2, Northern Illinois 3, Portland State 1
A narrow first-set loss put the Vikings in an early hole they couldn't climb out of in the nightcap Friday.
 
The Vikings battled back after an early 7-2 deficit against the Huskies in the first set. They fell behind again at 20-17 only to get level at 21-, 22- and 23-all. But they never went in front as the Huskies pipped them to the post, 25-23.
 
The Vikings showed a spark in the third set. With some lineup changes – Katie Brewer in at middle blocker; Alivia Eikenberg on the outside; Levick and Katarina Kosic in as part of a 6-2 formation – the Vikings looked like a new team initially. They led 11-3 after an Eikenberg ace and never let the Huskies closer than four points the rest of the way.
 
Eikenberg had five kills on .500 hitting in the frame, while the Vikings hit .265 as a team – by far their best hitting percentage of the match.
 
The Vikings rode that momentum to an 11-6 lead at the start of the fourth set. But the Huskies won 19 of the last 25 points from there to close out the match.
 
Ashley Repetti led the Vikings with nine kills on .222 hitting, tying her career high.
 
Jessica Truong, who started at libero for the first time in her career, led the Vikings with a career-high 15 digs.
 
The Vikings set a season high with 11.0 blocks with four different players recording three blocks between Brewer, Coffman, Biesemeyer and Watson.
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