Fri-Sat • Aug. 27-28 • Corvallis, Ore. • Gill Coliseum
Friday, Aug. 27
Pilots vs. Oregon State (0-0-0), 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Aug 28
Pilots vs. Illinois State (0-0-0), 10:00 a.m.
Pilots vs. Sacramento State (0-0-0), 5:00 p.m.
The Portland Pilots volleyball team opens the 2010 season this weekend at the Corvallis Invitational, hosted by Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore. The Pilots first play the host Beavers on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Gill Coliseum. Then on Saturday, UP will face Illinois State at 10:00 a.m. before taking on Sacramento State at 5:00 p.m.
Brief Preview: Portland welcomes back three starters, a senior libero and eight letterwinners overall from last year’s team that posted a 6-23 overall record and a 2-12 mark in the West Coast Conference. The roster features four newcomers who will be seeing their first action on a collegiate court this weekend.
In the West Coast Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll, Portland edged Loyola Marymount for the seventh place spot. Sophomore middle blocker Ariel Usher, who landed on the WCC All-Freshman team last season, was voted to the preseason all-conference team. Usher, out of Forest Grove, Ore., led the team in points in 2009 and finished in the top 10 in the conference in hitting percentage.
Junior middle blocker Marissa Plummer also returns to help lead the Portland attack. Last season, Plummer was third on the team in kills (173) and kills per set (1.66). In 2008, Plummer landed on the WCC’s All-Freshman team.
Libero Danielle Dupar is the lone senior on Portland’s young roster. Last year, the Corte Madera, Calif., native became just the ninth player in school history to reach the 1,000 career dig mark, ranking ninth overall with 1,004. As a junior, she led the Pilots with a career-high 365 digs, averaging 4.20 digs per set, fifth-best in the WCC.
Head coach Joe Houck returns for his third season at the helm of the Pilots.
Pilots vs. Oregon State: The Beavers claim a 39-6 advantage in the all-time series against the Pilots. Oregon State has won 26 straight matches in the series, a streak the stretches back to 1989. Portland has defeated OSU just once in Corvallis, which came during the 1988 season.
Pilots vs. Illinois State: This is the first meeting between the Pilots and the Redbirds.
Pilots vs. Sacramento State: The Hornets have won all four previous meetings with the Pilots, most recently in 1995. Overall, Sac State has defeated UP twice in Portland and twice in Sacramento.
Open Season: The Pilots are 9-17 all-time in season-opening matches. Last fall, Portland opened with a loss at Washington State. UP’s last win to open a season came in 2007, when the Pilots defeated Northern Colorado in five sets.
Blog It: Freshman Autumn Wedan, a middle blocker from Klamath Falls, Ore., has taken over blogging duties for the Pilots, and she’ll be providing a “behind the scenes” look at Portland volleyball all season long. Be sure to visit www.portlandpilots.com/WedanBlog for updates.
UP Introduces GameCentral: Live video, audio and stats for all Portland Pilots home athletic events is now a “mouse-click” away with the introduction of GameCentral, a free service provided by the University of Portland and Stretch Internet. GameCentral combines free video, audio and livestats in one location, making following the Pilots easier and more accessible than ever before.
All home, non-televised men’s and women’s soccer games, volleyball matches and men’s and women’s basketball games will be available through the free service. This includes 11 women’s soccer games, nine men’s soccer games and eight volleyball matches.
GameCentral will also provide instantly archived video, which can be viewed on-demand by Pilots fans at any time.
The GameCentral “portal” can be accessed for free though PortlandPilots.com, while it will also be available on an iPhone, iPad or iTouch, allowing users to tune in to any UP broadcast – live or on-demand. To access through your iPhone, iPad or iTouch, simply visit the same url (http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/up.portal#) as the online UP GameCentral via your wireless device.
