#23 Loyola Marymount Downs Portland State in Straight Sets
Portland State will play its final non-conference match of the season Friday morning when the Vikings take on the Washington State Cougars.
(PULLMAN, Wash. ) — For the second straight match the Vikings fell to a top-ranked opponent, this time in straight sets to No. 23 Loyola Marymount at the Cougar Classic in Pullman, Wash.
The Lions took the match by scores of 25-17, 25-16, and 25-20.
Outside hitters Cheyne Corrado and Roni LaPierre led the Vikings with eight kills each, which marked the third time this season that no Viking recorded double-digit kills. Freshman middle blocker Sarah Liva and senior outside hitter Leigh-Ann Haataja added seven kills each for PSU.
Liva had the best hitting day for the Vikings going 7-for-15 with just two errors (.333 hitting percentage). Liva also matched her career-high with five blocks (1-4).
Loyola Marymount (10-0 overall) took control of the match early outhitting Portland State (2-9) .310-to-.000 in the first set.
The Vikings quickly found themselves in a big hole down 12-5 in the first. LMU increased its lead to 20-9 before the Vikings went on a 5-1 run behind tough serving from Haataja and a pair of Liva kills. The Vikings made a run late but fell 25-17 in the first.
The second set was much closet to start as the teams traded points to a 5-5 score. Loyola Marymount rattled off five-straight points to take a 10-5 lead.
The Lions increased their lead to as much as nine points at 21-12 before taking the second set 25-16. LaPierre led the Vikings with four kills in the set while Corrado added three along with three digs. Corrado finished with a team-high 10 digs.
Portland State led early in the third set and went up by four points at 8-4 on an ace from Kasimira "Kasi" Clark. Loyola then scored four straight to tie the set at 8-8. The lead bounced back and forth through much of the middle part of the third before the Lions took a four-point lead at 15-11.
The Vikings battled back to tie it at 18-18 thanks to back-to-back kills from Haataja and Corrado.
The Lions strung a few points together and finally took the third set, 25-20, to complete the sweep.
LMU's Litara Keil and Caitlin DeWitt posted match-highs of 11 kills each.
The Vikings held DeWitt, the Lions best hitter, to just a .250 hitting mark in the match.
Portland State will play its final non-conference match of the season Friday morning when the Vikings take on the Washington State Cougars at 11:00 a.m. PT.
Source: goviks.com
