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PORTLAND, Ore. – Behind the play of senior outside hitter Jill Sawatzky, Oregon State rallied from two sets down for a 3-2 comeback victory at Portland State on Tuesday night.
Portland State (2-1) won the opening two sets, 25-21 and 27-25, before watching the Beavers (1-3) rally to win the final three sets, 25-15, 25-19, 15-13.
Oregon State opened the first frame with a 5-3 lead, but Portland State scored three straight points to go in front 6-5, getting two kills from Whitney Phillips during the run. The Vikings would not lead by more than three until a kill by Alexa Rosendale put it at set point, 24-20. Two plays later, Phillips finished out the set with a kill from the left side.
The Vikings never trailed in set two and opened up a 14-10 advantage on a swing by Megan Ellis. Portland State later extended its lead to 20-15 on a kill by Rosendale. Oregon State then scored seven of the next nine points to put it at 22-22. With the score tied at 25-25, Phillips hammered home back-to-back kills to give the Viks the win.
Portland State appeared on its way to the victory, but Oregon State came out of the break a different team. The Beavers won the next two sets to set up a wild finish.
OSU led the final set 6-3 before Portland State scored three straight points to tie it up. The set was tied five more times until the Beavers escaped with the set and match.
Phillips led Portland State with 22 kills, Rosendale added a career high 17 more and Nicole Bateham led all players with 26 digs.
Rosendale tallied her second double-double on the season as she registered 13 digs. The sophomore also hit .342, another career best.
Also for PSU, Christie Hamilton registered eight kills and a .389 attack percentage, while Lana Zielke tallied nine kills and hit .294.
Sawatzky paced Oregon State with 23 kills and a .417 hitting mark. She also dug 11 balls and was one of five Beavers to finish in double-digits in digs.
Portland State now hits the road for three matches at the Northwest Challenge. The Vikings play No. 9 Washington on Friday, before finishing with Gonzaga and host Boise State on Saturday.
NOTES: The Stott Center crowd of 1,091 was one of the largest in PSU's NCAA Division I era ... Garyn Schlatter led PSU with 35 assists, while Dominika Kristinikova added 26 more ... Bateham's 26 digs were a new career-high ... OSU outblocked the Vikings, 13-3.