Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Portland State
Staker has career night, Wildcats fall to Vikings
10/3/2014 5:02:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
PORTLAND, Oregon – The Weber State women's volleyball accomplished something that hadn't happened since 2004 when they paid a visit to Portland State on Thursday night. The Wildcats won their first set in over a decade at the Peter W. Stott Center. But that would be the only set they would win as Portland State won the match in four sets, 22-25, 26-24, 25-27, 25-23.
The loss drops the Wildcats record to 3-13, 0-3 in Big Sky conference play.
The Wildcats were led by Samantha Staker as she had a career night in Portland. Staker's career-high 20 kills and 10 digs accounted for her first double-double of the season. She also hit a match-high .514, while Audrey Biggs had 10 kills.
Taylor Christensen had 38 assists, 6 digs and 5 blocks while Megan Thompson almost reached double-digits with 8 blocks. Audrey Hunter had 6 blocks, which moved her into 10th on the all-time career block assists and total blocks list.
McKay Tarbox also put her name in the record books as her 20 digs catapulted her into the top 10. Thamires Cavalcanti added 7 digs and Jess Hover had 6 digs of her own.
“Samantha played really well tonight,” WSU head coach Tom Peterson said. “This is the first time that we had her starting on the right side. She came in and performed well in those pressure situations. It is also nice to see Audrey Hunter and McKay Tarbox get into the top 10.”
The Wildcats seemed poised to take the match after a back-and-forth first set. Both Staker and Biggs had 6 kills in the opening set as the Vikings had no answer.
But the Wildcats were unable to keep that momentum going into the second set as they fell behind early. But trailing 23-20, they rallied to tie the set but the Vikings were able to hold off the rally.
The third set was owned by the Vikings as they kept the Wildcats on their hills and disrupted any rhythm they had.
The fourth set contained some of the best rallies that either team had been a part of all seasons. After the Vikings seemed to pull away with the match, the Wildcats put on their rally caps down 24-20. After three straight Viking errors it seemed as if the Wildcats were going to steal the set. The Wildcats were gaining momentum as the Vikings were unable to get the ball past the Wildcats. Back-to-back long rallies kept the Wildcats in the match. But a beautifully placed ball by Roni LaPierre gave the Vikings their first conference win of the season.
The Wildcats will now travel to play Sacramento State on Saturday, October 4th. The first serve is set for 2 p.m. The match can be viewed for free at BigSkyTV and Watch Big Sky app.
