Vikings can’t handle cross-town rival

The Portland State Volleyball squad fell in painfully familiar fashion Tuesday night against city rival University of Portland 0-3 (22-30, 22-30, 26-30).

The Pilots jumped out to an early lead in game one and all the Vikings could do was play catch-up. The match was decided at 30-22, in favor of the hosting Pilots.

Game two was no different as the Pilots were able to take the lead over the Vikings, and with it, control of the match two games to none. The final score of game two was 30-22 in favor of the Pilots.

The Vikings were able to pull within four points of the Pilots in the waning moments of game three, but ultimately couldn’t come up with enough points for a win. The Pilots took game three and the match with a score of 30-26.

Leading the Vikings in offense were Richell Wilson and Kristina Thom who had a combined total of 22 kills on the night. However, it wasn’t enough to compete with the Portland Pilots who now move to 5-14 overall.

Defensively, four Vikings came up with some much needed digs. Stacy Ball, Katie Young, Thom and Kristin Ratzlaff had 13, 12, 12 and 10 digs respectively for the Vikings.

Seeing her first full-match action in a few weeks after falling victim to an injury that kept her sidelined was senior Katie Kaysinger. Kaysinger came away with 28 assists and seven digs for the Vikings.

The story of the match however was the Pilot offense. Bridget DeChant, Anna Abatzoglou and Michelle Oakland combined for 40 kills and a .442 hit percentage.

The Pilots also had three women in double digits in digs. This, and the sheer number of kills were enough to secure the win for the Pilots.

The Vikings will be back in action this Friday night at 7 p.m. in the Peter W. Stott Center as they host the Weber State Wildcats. Admission is free to all Portland State students.