Coug volleyball lost 3-1 to the University of Portland on Nov. 20 on their senior night. On paper, this matchup should have been a mild-win for the Cougars, but it was the complete opposite. 

Set 1 – Portland opened the match with strong early swings, from Nevaeh Bray, and steady ball control keeping WSU off balance. WSU’s Taryn Vrieling and Eliana Ti’a led a comeback, however, to keep the score within reach. However, mistakes mounted from WSU, and Portland’s Elin Larsson and Maui Robins capitalized on these mistakes, while Bray delivered multiple blocks and strikes. Portland’s late precision on hits, and WSU’s miscues, allowed the Pilots to secure a 28–26 win.

Portland: 17 kills, 8 errors and 40 attempts, hitting .225.

WSU: 13 kills, 6 errors and 40 attempts, hitting .175.

Set 2 – WSU, looking for a bounce back, came out swinging with a strike from Vrieling,  which slid between two UP players. Ti’a, right on cue, hit a laser to extend the WSU lead. While being just a freshman, Ti’a has been one of the best players on the team all season. In response, Portland’s Maui Robins took matters into her own hands with a strong hit to tie up the set 2-2. Vrieling then one-upped Robins with a hit of her own to retake the lead. After her strike, Vrieling served and scored off a UP reception error.

WSU went on a 3-0 run to take a 10-6 lead. Ti’a scores for WSU on back-to-back possessions, extending the dominant set two showing from WSU. After a handful of runs from WSU, led by Ti’a and Vrieling, the score got out of hand with WSU, taking the second set 25-12.

UP: 7 kills, 4 errors and 25 attempts, hitting .120.

WSU: 15 kills, 4 errors and 29 attempts, hitting .379.

Set 3 – Vrieling got set three started off with a steamer of a hit, and Bray answered right back with a strike of her own. All match,  Portland and WSU went strike for strike with each other. Bray took over for Portland with a mixture of blocks, hits and dumps. WSU had no answer in the third set for Bray or the Portland defense. The momentum WSU had after the second set completely vanished. 

With the set score at 23-12, WSU head coach Korey Schroeder put senior Kylie Wong in for the first time. Wong had three rows in the crowd filled with fans, friends and family, and Bohler was loud for the first time all game. Wong made an immediate impact with a set up to Vrieling, resulting in a WSU score, but Schroeder immediately took her out. Right after the substitution was made, it went right back to being all Portland, winning the set 25-15.

UP: 10 kills, 2 errors and 23 attempts, hitting .348.

WSU: 9 kills, 10 errors and 31 attempts, hitting -.032. 

Set 4 – With their backs against the wall, trailing 2-1 in sets and needing a win, Melina Christodoulou got things started with a kill-shot hit that Portland could not receive. WSU got out to a quick 7-2 lead, similar to the first set, but they ultimately let Portland stay in the set and come back. Larsson sparked some momentum for Portland with a handful of dumps and hits to make the score 11-7, in favor of WSU. Portland quickly gained some momentum and channeled their defense from set one and three to take a 14-12 lead. From there, it was all Portland for the rest of the set, winning 25-18.

UP: 15 kills, 3 errors and 24 attempts, hitting .500.

WSU: 14 kills, 5 errors and 33 attempts, hitting .273. 

Senior night festivities took place post-game. Ideally, a win would have been the cherry on top, but a loss did not stop the emotional night for the seniors. Vrieling capped off her last game at Bohler with 10 kills, one of her best games of the season; Kylie Wong, who does not play much, got a little action and played well; Camryn Lingenbrink had eight kills, third most on the team; and Melina Christodoulou led the team with 15 kills, capping off her home-game career at WSU on a high note.

Post game, Vrieling reflected on her time at WSU and how her last game at Bohler unfolded. 

“I think it was all momentum. I think they were able to kind of stop a couple runs from us and then go on a couple of their own. We couldn’t stop it. Ultimately, our service pass just was not there, and they had a lot of energy,” Vreling said. “I want my legacy to be that I was always giving to my teammates and being a positive light to everybody, and then I was aggressive. Yeah, that I was aggressive, and I came out wanting to win and play for the Cougs.”

Lingenbrink reflected on her time with the Cougs. 

“I didn’t have any idea that I would ever end up here in Washington State. So they’re actually the first school to reach out to in the world. And I hopped on it quickly, and here I am, and it’s been nothing but amazing,” Lingenbrink said. “Yeah, I mean, I’m just so grateful at the end of the day to play here. Korey took a chance on me. I didn’t play all spring, so it was sweet to be able to come back here. Obviously, I can’t do that without our passers and our centers, the girls, the girls who get us ready and push us in practice, and Cassie [Krieger], our middle coach, she’s amazing. So I can’t do any of that without them.”

Melina Christodoulou had only been with the Cougs since August but she wants to leave the WSU program better than she found it and mentor younger players on the team. 

“I chose this place because of the people, because of the community. I want to make sure the freshmen understand that there’s a culture in this program. There’s a pride in being a Coug, and I want to make sure they understand it. I am so proud to be a Coug,” Christodoulou said. “As far as [my] legacy, just to be brave. Up there in the net, I get blocked so many times, but at the end of the day, I keep hitting the ball as hard as I can. So just trying to be an example for them, to always be brave and to not be afraid.”