The Sac State volleyball team was defeated 1-3 on the road against Portland State Saturday evening. 

Sac State was fighting for first place standing in the Big Sky conference against Portland State. Portland improved to 13-7 overall and 8-1 in the Big Sky as they stayed in first place. 

“I felt pretty good. We knew Portland was going to be a tough team, seeing as they are ranked number one, but we knew we were number two so we can hang with them,” junior outside hitter Caitlin Volkmann said. “We definitely had a chance and still do, coming up.” 

First Set: 18-25 Vikings 

Sac State and Portland State served aggressively to put pressure on each other, attacking the ball with lots of power during the entire first set.  \

The Hornets showed strength with kills and teamwork communicating on the court. 

Sac State started to make a few small errors as the set continued which gave Portland State the lead and they took advantage of it. 

This set had a total of eight ties and one lead change as the Vikings came out with the win 25-18 in the first set. 

Second Set: 20-25 Vikings

Going into the second set, the Hornets came in with aggressive blocking and had a two point lead until the Vikings took control again. 

Sac State was trying to build their momentum back up, but Portland State was able to push through with a five point lead, winning the second set 25-20. 

“Made a few hitting errors and passing errors,” head coach Ruben Volta said. “We even missed a lot of serves tonight.” 

Third Set: 25-22 Hornets

In the third set of the match, Sac State was ready to give their all to win against Portland State. 

“I was really happy with how we fought and how we responded,” Volta said. “I thought we played really hard.” 

The Hornets were leading by ten points during this set until they started to make a few small errors, giving the Vikings the confidence to close the gap.

Sac State still came out on top in this third set with the win of 25-22. 

Fourth Set: 25-27 Vikings 

The Hornets went into the fourth and final set focused and with their heads in the game. 

There were a total of ten ties this set and it was a close game the whole way through. 

Sac State and Portland State had a very competitive match the whole game. The Vikings finished the final set with the win of 27-25. 

“I felt like we got comfortable where we were and we really fought hard,” Volkmann said. “We got a taste of what they can do and knew we could handle it so we started getting more control along with getting more aggressive.” 

Player Stats 

The Hornets will be returning home to play against Northern Colorado on Thursday at 7 p.m.