Rare home blemish

For the last three seasons, Portland State volleyball has carried an unflinching home court advantage through Big Sky play.

Coming into their Oct. 17 matchup against Sacramento State, the Vikings held a 27-match home winning streak against conference opponents, a streak dating back to 2005.

Last season, no other match demonstrated Portland State’s home court advantage better than the Vikings’ game against the Hornets.

Needing to win the match in four or less sets, the Vikings defeated Sacramento State and clinched the Big Sky regular-season championship, prompting a mini-celebration on the Stott Center.

But matched up again with a conference rival, Portland State fell in an epic five-set match (25-22, 18-25, 25-14, 18-25, 17-15) to Sacramento State this past Friday. The loss was the Vikings’ third straight, a tumble not experienced by this squad in some time.

The Vikings (12-6, 5-3 BSC) never seemed to find their offensive rhythm when playing on the east end of the court. They lost the first and third set on that side of the net and held an 8-7 lead over the Hornets when the teams switched sides midway through the fifth set.

But Sacramento State (7-15, 5-3 BSC), which has risen quickly to the top of the Big Sky standings after a dismal start, responded with some timely defense and precise serving.

With the score tied at 14 in the final moments, a service error by Portland State senior libero Jalen Pendon-Thomas coupled with a controversial call in the southeast corner of the court gave the Hornets the victory.

“We certainly had our opportunities to win the match,” said head coach Michael Seemann. “We should have never allowed it to rest on a call or get to that point.”

The high-intensity match was a thing of beauty for volleyball fans. Each point seemed to be decided only after an intense and well-played rally. Four Portland State players would end the night with double-digit kills, led by junior outside hitter Marija Vojnovic.

Vojnovic was also one of the team’s defensive leaders and wound up with 23 digs. Redshirt freshman Nicole Bateham had 24 digs in the first start of her career, and Pendon-Thomas ended the night tied for the game-high in digs at 35.

For whatever reason, the Vikings have yet to establish a consistent lineup halfway through the season, and Seemann says that they have yet to find the right rotation to play as well as the team is capable.

“The injuries have hurt us, with them [Christie Hamilton and Erica Jepsen] missing time and some other people still struggling we are constantly changing things,” Seemann said. “We would of course like to settle our rotation.”

The loss drops the Vikings into a four-team logjam for second place in the conference at the midway point of the regular season.

“The second half of conference is always completely different,” Seemann said. “Thus far, we have been the targeted team. Now we know more about these teams, their players and their strategies. We just need to execute our game.”

Execution may be the main cause for the losing streak according to Seemann.

“We are getting solid play, we just aren’t getting it consistently throughout the match,” Seemann said.

Players of the Game

Nicole BatehamDefensive SpecialistRedshirt freshmanCorvallis, Ore.24 digs

Marija VojnovicOutside HitterJuniorBelgrade, Serbia18 kills23 digs