Sarah Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) led Seattle U with 16 kills, plus she posted a .371 hitting percentage and contributed six digs and four total blocks. Alec Goodrie (Springfield, Ore.), playing her first career collegiate match, finished with 10 kills and only one attack error for a .391 hitting percentage along with six total blocks, while Jordan Keller (Mukilteo, Wash.) earned five service aces and 10 total blocks in the contest.
After the two teams traded the first eight points of the fifth set, back-to-back kills by Garyn Schlatter and Kaeli Patton gave Portland State a 6-4 advantage. Consecutive kills from Aubrey Mitchell and two Patton service aces increased the Viking lead to 13-8, and Megan Ellis' kill brought about match point. Jaeckel extended the match with back-to-back kills, but Mitchell closed out the comeback with her 11th kill of the night.
In the first set, Portland State scored four of the first five points, but kills by Goodrie and Jaeckel sandwiched around a service ace from Keller quickly tied the set at 4-4. Later on, three straight Redhawk attack errors allowed the Vikings to pull out to a 17-14 lead, and the home team would maintain that advantage until reaching set point. Seattle U would score the final five points of the set as the Vikings made three attack errors to give the Redhawks the first set victory, 26-24.
The second set went back and forth until Seattle U scored four unanswered points, two of them off Keller service aces, to take a 15-11 advantage. Portland State answered with five straight points, including two blocks by Schlatter and Leigh-Ann Haataja and two kills from Patton, to pull ahead, 18-17. Down 21-19, the Redhawks scored six of the final eight points of the set, led by two kills and a block assist from Goodrie, to go into the intermission ahead two sets to none.
Portland State (3-1) fell behind 10-6 on back-to-back kills by Jaeckel and Goodrie, but a 12-4 scoring run, punctuated by a block from Haataja and Patton, would give the Vikings an 18-14 advantage. The home team would extend the match by scoring the final three points of the set, starting with a block by Mitchell and Katie O'Brien and followed by kills from Ellis and Mitchell.
The Vikings maintained the momentum in the fourth set, winning the first three points to take the early lead. Consecutive kills from Jaeckel along with a kill and a block assist by Goodrie allowed the Redhawks to take a 12-11 lead, but a kill by Ellis along with a solo block and a kill by Patton gave the home team the lead for good. The Vikings closed out the set on a 10-2 scoring run.
"Our preparation was good, but we have to do a better job of staying in the moment. We had opportunities we did not take advantage of. It is a long road trip, so we have a lot of time together to figure it out," head coach Shannon Ellis said.
Karina Miastkowska (Northbrook, Ill.) finished with nine kills, while Julia Bonadio (Phoenix, Ariz.) added seven kills and 10 defensive digs. Jacquie Brice (Fullerton, Calif.) notched 27 assists and seven digs, Megan Augustavo (Shoreline, Wash.) accumulated 20 assists and 13 digs, and Lani Beadle (Seattle, Wash.) led the Redhawks with 19 defensive digs.
Ellis led the Portland State offense with 18 kills, plus she earned nine digs, while Patton collected 12 kills and five service aces in the match. Haataja finished with nine kills and 10 total blocks, O'Brien earned eight kills and six block assists, and Schlatter stuffed the stat sheet with 51 assists, six kills, two service aces, nine digs, and seven total blocks. Portland State libero Nicole Bateham led her team with 19 digs, and Domi Kristinikova added 13 digs off the bench for the Vikings.
Portland State finished with 64 kills, a .241 hitting percentage, 10 service aces, and 17 total blocks. Meanwhile, Seattle U earned 58 kills, a .167 hitting percentage, eight service aces, and 14 team blocks. The Redhawks did pick up 68 defensive digs, while the Vikings collected 61 digs during the match.
Seattle University (1-3) continues the road trip through Oregon by heading to Eugene for a contest against #16 Oregon Friday, Sept. 2, beginning at 7 p.m.