Portland, Ore. - In what started as a dream quickly became a nightmare for the Pacific women's volleyball team as the Tigers dropped a five-set decision to Utah State on Saturday, Sept. 7 to start day two of the Portland State Tournament. The loss dropped the Tigers to 4-3 on the year while the Aggies improved to 3-2.

Set scores for the match were: 16-25, 11-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-11.

Running out to a dominating 2-0 lead, the Tigers appeared as if they were on their way to a quick 3-0 sweep of the Aggies and a perfect start to their tournament play. However, it was not to be as Utah State turned the tables on Pacific after the 10 minute break and ran off three-straight set victories to steal the win. 

In the first two sets of the morning Pacific was in complete control of the match as the Tigers had their way with the Aggies in all facets of the match. Behind an offensive attack that hit .500 and a serve that kept Utah State off balance and out of system, Pacific allowed just 27 points in the first two sets of action. For Pacific, the second set proved to be its most dominant as the Tigers hit. 682 with 16 kills and just one error led by senior Megan Birch who went 5-for-6 at the net. Birch had eight kills on 14 swings through the first two sets and finished with 15 on .371 hitting in the match.

With the lead and match in control the last thing the Tigers needed was a 10 minute break in the lockerroom between sets two and three as Pacific cooled off while the Aggies used the time to regroup. Back on the court, Utah State flipped the match on the Tigers putting Pacific behind early in each of the last three sets while never giving back the lead. Over the final three sets the Tigers never held the lead as the Aggies stopped Pacific's comeback attempts in its tracks at every turn. The difference in the match proved to be Utah State's block which went from just one in the first two sets to 12 overal the final three sets of action. In addition, the Aggies passing improved over the final three sets of play as Pacific finished the morning with five aces, all coming in the first two sets.

Overall, the Tigers were led by sophomore Kat Schulz who finished the match with a season-best 16 kills while adding eight digs and three blocks. Birch was second on the team in kills while freshman Lexi Elman added 12 kills and 14 digs to post her second-straight double-double. Junior Gillian Howard rounded out the hitting for the Tigers with 10 kills while sophomore setter Kimmy Whitson just missed her first career triple-double with a career-best nine kills, 54 assists, adn 12 digs.

The Aggies were led by Rachel Orr who posted 20 kills on .306 hitting. Tumua Etimani posted 13 kills while Elle Brainard tallied 11 kills and five blocks. Alyssa Everett led the blocking attack for Utah State with eight blocks.

The Tigers will look to rebound against the host Vikings of Portland State later in the evening when the two teams meet at 7:00 pm to close out the PSU Tournament.