CHENEY, Wash. - Nevada Volleyball played the second match of the Eastern Washington Invitational, Friday, losing in five sets (20-25, 17-25, 26-24, 25-16, 15-12) to Portland.
A tight opening ensued in set one, with both teams sharing ties at 3-3 and 10-10 before the Pack grabbed a tight lead 15-14 at the media timeout. A stretch of runs late in the set, led by
Paige Thies, spurred the Pack to a 25-20 set one win.
The Pack went on a huge opening run to start set two, losing the first two points before going on a seven-point run. Nevada maintained that momentum off the back of strong play at the net, holding a 15-9 lead at the media timeout. Kills from four separate attackers held the lead through the end of the set with the Pack running out the set 25-17.
Set three started off strong for the Wolf Pack, led by four
Karly Bonaventure kills taking the Pack into the media timeout up 15-9. Four Thies kills late in the set took Nevada's lead to 24-21 with three match points, before a four-point run from the Pilots gave them the set 26-24.
An early six-point run by Portland earned them a 9-3 lead early in the fourth set.
Ceren Sert gave the Pack some flashes of play both offensively and defensively but the Pilots ran the set out 25-16.
Set five opened as a tight battle, with teams sharing ties at 3-3 and 5-5, before the Pilots went on a three-point run to hold an 8-5 lead. Nevada clawed at Portland's lead with points from Dorn, Thies and Long but eventually fell in the final set 15-12.
Nevada was led by
Paige Thies' 18 kills, while
Malia Pilimai,
Ceren Sert, and
Karly Bonaventure combined for 28 more kills.
Adriana Dorn directed the offense with 36 assists and three service aces, while
Masyn Navarro recorded a match-high 15 digs, added eight assists, and matched the team lead with three aces. At the net,
Karly Bonaventure posted a team-high five blocks as the Wolf Pack hit .212 as a team.
