Portland, Ore. - Nevada Volleyball closed out their road trip in Portland, battling in a five-set loss to Portland State.
Set one was a back and forth battle between the Pack and the Vikings, with the teams jammed 16-16 mid way through the set. The Pack had one set point late in the set but lost a tight set one, 25-27.
Jess Walkenhorst and
Paige Thies led the Pack attack, both with seven kills.
The Pack struggled to find momentum in set two, heading into the media timeout down 10-15. The Vikings starting outside Alivia Eikenberg had five kills early in set two. Nevada couldn't keep pace with the strong Viking attack, eventually falling in set two, 15-25.
Nevada showed grit in set three, going up 7-2 early, off the back of strong attacking play from
Jess Walkenhorst and Reno native,
Karly Bonaventure. The Pack managed a lead for most of the set before coming to a tie at 22-22 late in the set. Kills by Thies, Walkenhorst and Pilimai led the Pack to an eventual 27-25 set three win.
Set four was full of runs from both teams, with the Pack going on 4-0 runs twice in the middle of the set, to lead 21-20. A kill and solo block from
Ceren Sert had Nevada up 23-21, before eventually winning the set 25-23 off the back of a kill from
Paige Thies.
The Vikings jumped out the gate in set five, getting out to an early 7-1 lead, which turned out to be too much for the Pack to turn around, eventually falling 5-15 in the final set.
Paige Thies was the highlight for the Wolf Pack, earning a double double with 20 kills and 14 digs.
Karly Bonaventure (.286) led hitting percentage for the Pack attackers, followed by
Jess Walkenhorst (.237) with 13 kills.
Keely Hummel had 43 assists for the Pack, starting at setter.
Ceren Sert was the leader for blocks, totalling seven for the game.
The Pack will return next Thursday in a road game against Sacramento State.
