Volleyball

Volleyball Falls to Portland, 3-0

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Volleyball Falls to Portland, 3-0Volleyball Falls to Portland, 3-0

HONOLULU, Hawaii – The San Diego State volleyball team fell against Portland in three sets (18-25, 22-25, 18-25) on Thursday night in its opening match of the Outriggers Volleyball Challenge hosted by the University of Hawai'i. SDSU falls to 1-6 on the young season, while Portland continues a successful start to its 2018 campaign, improving to 7-0.
 
Offense was at a premium to start the match, with Portland owning a narrow 10-9 advantage in kills in the first set. The difference proved to be SDSU being hindered by nine attack errors. The Pilots jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with an SDSU attack error and pair of service aces and maintained its lead for the remainder of the set despite a match-high four kills by Ashlynn Dunbar.
 
The SDSU offense started clicking in the second set, posting a match-best .300 hitting percentage for the game. Four different Aztecs logged multiple kills in the set, including four apiece from the middle-blocking duo of Tamia Reeves and Deja Harris. The set featured nine occasions where the score was tied, and with the match tied at 15-15, Portland used a game-defining 3-0 run to take an 18-15 lead. The Pilots eventually went on to win the set and take a 2-0 lead after a 25-22 win.
 
Dunbar's offensively leadership continued in the third set, posting seven kills while taking 22 of SDSU's 51 attempts. SDSU started the set with a 9-3 lead after back-to-back kills by Dunbar, however, a 12-6 run for the Pilots eventually evened the match at 15-15. With the teams going point-for-point on the next two services to keep the match tied at 16-16, Portland used an 8-2 run to end the set and claim the match.  
 
Camryn Machado and Delaney Taylor split time at the setter position, registering 16 assists each. Machado led all players in the match with a .390 setting percentage, while Dunbar led SDSU with 13 kills – her sixth double-digit kill performance of the season. Harris led SDSU with four blocks, while Sam McGrath logged 12 digs to lead the SDSU defensive effort.
 
UP NEXT
SDSU continues action in the Aloha State tomorrow at 4:45 p.m. HT against Idaho (4-2).