The Portland Pilots travel to California this week to face the Saint Mary’s College Gaels on Thursday Nov. 6 in Moraga, Calif. before squaring up against the No. 22 Santa Clara Broncos on Saturday, Nov. 8 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Portland is looking to capture its first conference win and some momentum to bring them into their final home matches of the season the following weekend on Nov. 13 and Nov. 15.
Game Day Coverage
All Portland home matches will once again be video streamed live at www.pilotsvideo.com. A season pass is available for $40, while single-game matches are $8. Free audio streams and live stats will continue to be available at www.portlandpilots.com.
Pilot Podcasts
As part of the new and improved portlandpilots.com, fans will be treated with frequent and exclusive interviews from all UP athletic programs throughout the 2008-09 sports seasons.
Visit the Pilots Podcast page for previews, reviews, Q&A’s and other fun features. Coaches, student-athletes and athletic administrators will be frequent contributors to the new Podcast page.
Looking Back
The Pilots, who now sit at 6-19 overall and 0-9 WCC, are coming off a rigorous weekend at home that saw them face two ranked opponents and suffer two defeats.
On Thursday Oct. 30, Portland was defeated 3-0 by the then No. 15 San Diego Toreros despite owning the match high of 12 kills that was shared by senior Ashley Grayson and sophomore Jessica Clemens. Sophomore Danielle Dupar tied for match high in digs with seven, along with Toreros Amy DeGroot and Andrea Csaszi. The match, which had scores of 25-21, 25-17, and 25-21, was a “Dig for the Cure” event in support of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
On Saturday Nov. 1, the then No. 22 San Francisco Dons handed Portland a 3-0 loss with score of 25-21, 25-19, and 25-16. Jessica Clemens collected two of her team high 14 kills in the opening play of both the first and second sets. Clemens’ also posted 11 digs, earning her a tenth double-double of the season. Senior Ashley Grayson added spark to the Pilot attack with nine kills, while sophomore Danielle Dupar led the defense with 12 digs. Junior Kaylyn Jones and freshman Allix Strahon shared time at the setter’s position posting 17 and 15 assists respectively.
Scouting Saint Mary’s
The Gaels, who sit at 16-6 overall and 6-3 in the WCC, posted two wins last weekend defeating LMU 3-2 then No. 19 Pepperdine 3-1. They are currently tied for third in the conference.
Megan York drives the Gaels’ play with a team leading 3.79 kills/set and also adds 3.49 digs/set. Alita Fisher leads Saint Mary’s on the backline with the team high 3.69 digs/set. Kapua Kamana’o organizes the Gael’s attack from the setter position at a clip of 11.65 assists/set and a total of 944. Shannon Lowell leads the team in blocks with 88. Lowell is the reigning WCC Player of the Week and posted a career high in kills with 21 during the win against LMU.
Head coach Rob Browning is in his fourth season with the Gaels who went 15-13 last fall and 6-8 in the WCC, good enough for T-5th. 12 letterwinners and seven starters returned this season.
SMC leads the all-time series with Portland 26-20. Earlier this season on Oct. 11, 2008, the two teams met in Portland, Ore. for a 3-0 result in SMC’s favor. Portland’s Ashley Grayson posted the match high of 15 kills and setter Kaylyn Jones had a double-double with 30 assists and 10 digs.
Scouting Santa Clara
The Broncos (15-6, 6-3 WCC) went undefeated last weekend on the road, handing then No. 19 Pepperdine a straight-set loss before beating LMU 3-1. They are currently tied for third in the conference.
Brittany Lowe, the CVU National Player of the Week, leads the Broncos with 3.59 kills/set, 30 aces, 2.55 digs/set and seven double-doubles on the season. On defense, Taylor O’Brien has the team high in digs with 263 total and 3.46/set. Setter Lindsey Davigeadono sends out 11.07 assists/set for a total of 841 so far this season. At the net, Anna Cmaylo is dynamic on both offense and defense contributing a team high 86 blocks and also 2.97 kills/set.
Head coach Jon Wallace is in his tenth season with the Broncos, who went 19-12 overall last fall and 11-3 in the WCC, tying for the first spot. 10 letterwinners and five starters returned this season.
SCU leads the all-time series with Portland 39-6. In the last meeting between the two teams earlier this season on Oct. 9, 2008, SCU had the edge in a 3-0 win in Portland, Ore. Lowe had the match high in kills with 13. Portland’s Jessica Clemens and Danielle Dupar tied for the match high in digs with nine each.
Trio of Seniors
In their final year on the Bluff, Portland Pilot seniors, K.C. Fox, Ashley Grayson and Jennifer Sheedy are adapting to a new system under first year Coach Houck. All seniors are playing pivotal roles this season. Grayson, a middle blocker who can play multiple positions, is leading the team with 287 kills at a pace of 3.26 kills/set. Grayson has also put up 38 total blocks so far, five of those solo.
Sheedy, Grayson’s counterpart in the middle, has connected on 219 kills for 2.46/set and leads the team with 62 total blocks, that includes 14 solos.
Fox, an outsider hitter, continues to be consistent this season both offensively and defensively. She has an average of 1.51 kills/set (133 total), 1.36 digs per set (120 total), 26 total blocks and is second on the team in service aces with 18.
Another veteran, junior setter Kaylyn Jones, orchestrates the Pilot attack and has dished out 8.19 assists/set for a season total of 704.
At the final home match of the season on Saturday Nov. 15, the Portland seniors will all be honored in a pre-match celebration of their contribution to the University of Portland volleyball program.
NKOTB Update
The Pilot newcomers have quickly integrated the team, and their contributions are being felt all over the court. The 6-2 freshman middle blocker Marissa Plummer is second on the team in total blocks with 55, including 12 solos, and averages 0.71 blocks per set. Also an offensive threat, Plummer has consistently held the team high attacking percentage, which is currently at .264, by connecting on 124 kills in 295 swings for 1.59 kills/set.
Freshman libero Allix Strahon, who has consistently seen court time, is a significant help on defense with 1.71 digs per set and 118 total. More recently, Strahon has been playing as reserve setter and posted a career high 32 assists as the Pilots edged CS Bakersfield 3-1 on Oct. 27.
The 6-0 outside hitter Katie Hronek, who hails from Kent, Wash., and the athletic outside hitter Robyn Hall, from Hayward, Calif. are also helping to reinforce the Pilots this season. Rounding out the newcomers is Rachel Fleming, a 6-0 outside hitter from Vancouver, Wash.
Fleming and junior transfer Jessica Baty are utilizing their redshirt year in 2008.
The Career Charts
Two Pilot seniors continue to scale the career charts as the season progresses. Senior Jennifer Sheedy broke into the all-time top-ten list this season in career kills, moving up to the 9th position with 971 career kills. Sheedy also posts a 5th-ranked career hitting percentage of .258. Sheedy is eighth on the block assists list with 206 and sits at eighth on the career total blocks list with 264.
Joining Sheedy on UP’s all-time career charts is four-year starter Ashley Grayson. Grayson is fifth on the career block assists list with 220 and she is seventh in total blocks with 265.
Sophomore Danielle Dupar is ranked fifth on the career digs per set list with 3.16 average.
The Sisters Clemens
Sisters Maria and Jessica Clemens are back for their second season together on The Bluff. Maria, a junior, has moved to setter this year after spending the last two years as mainly an outside hitter. Jessica, a sophomore outside hitter, leads the team in two categories, in service aces (27) and total digs (237) and has recorded a team high ten double-doubles. Jessica also plays basketball for UP.
The Clemens name is a familiar one throughout the state of Oregon. Brother Kellen was a standout quarterback for the Oregon Ducks and is currently playing for the New York Jets in the NFL.
Pilots Featured in the News
Portland Pilot freshman Marissa Plummer is featured in the newspaper the Auburn Journal. Check out www.portlandpilots.com for the full article.
