Final Stats EL PASO, Texas - The Nicholls State University women's volleyball opened up its 2011 slate on Friday afternoon at the El Paso Sports Commission Volleyball Invitational, falling 3-0 (17-25, 15-25, 15-25) against Portland State.

Nicholls (0-1) was led by senior right side hitter Rachel Yezak and junior middle blocker Jessica Addicks, who combined for 14 of the Colonels' 27 kills in the match. Nicholls finished the day with a .035 hitting percentage, accumulating 23 errors in the loss.

In the opening set, the Colonels evened the score at 10-all after junior middle blocker Jasmine Harris delivered back-to-back kills. Portland State (1-0) quickly regained the lead before using a 10-1 run to push its advantage to 23-13. An ace by senior setter Jordan Karst, who led the team with 21 assists, brought Nicholls within seven, but the Vikings would end the game in the next rally, winning 25-17.

The Vikings carried the momentum into the second set, scoring four kills to grab an early 6-0 lead. Nicholls cut the deficit to four at 14-10 on a kill by Yezak; however, PSU continued its impressive hitting attack, finishing with a .333 percentage as they took a 2-0 lead with a 25-15 set two victory.

In the final set, the teams played to five ties to make the score 6-6 before the Vikings put together a 13-1 run that included nine straight scores, giving PSU a 19-7 lead. Portland State kept a sizable lead the rest of the way as they went on to win 25-15, taking the match in straight sets.

On defense, Yesak and freshman libero Jeanne Logarbo recorded nine digs each for the Colonels.

The Vikings finished the match with a .327 hitting percentage, led by Megan Ellis with a match-high 15 kills.

The Colonels will look to pick up their first victory of the season with two matchups on Saturday to wrap up tournament play. Nicholls will take on Southern at 10 a.m. before closing out with the University of Texas-El Paso at 2 p.m.