PORTLAND PILOTS (13-7, 4-4 WCC)
WEEK 9: vs. GONZAGA
GONZAGA BULLDOGS (11-9, 6-2 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Oct. 21, 2017
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 1:00 PM
Facility: Portland, Ore.
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
POR vs. GON
Overall Series: 22-45
H: 13-18 •
A: 10-23 •
N: 0-0
Last: GON 3, @POR 2 (11/21/2016)
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots welcome Gonzaga to the Chiles Center as the lone conference match of the weekend.
• The Zags were also swept last weekend by then-No.7 BYU and No.18 San Diego.
• The Bulldogs are led by freshmen Sarah Penner and Chapin Gray, and redshirt senior Alyse Whitaker who each have 176, 163, and 162 kills on the year.
• Head coach Diane Nelson is in her second year as head coach with Gonzaga. She guided the Zags to one of their most successful years in program history in 2016 finishing 17-11 overall and 10-8 in conference, tying for third with the Pilots.
• The match against the Bulldogs is also Portland's "Dig Pink" match.
• The team is raising donations for the Side-Out foundation. The organization was started by volleyball coaches and are partners with USA volleyball and the AVCA. Fans can make donations at the team's fundraising page here (https://giving.side-out.org/campaigns/13517) and spectators are encouraged to wear pink at Saturday's match.
• It is also Portland's alumni reunion match. There will be a meet and greet with Pilot alum after the match with light food and refreshments. The event has 18 alumni confirmed so far and all alumni are encouraged to bring their families and stay after to meet with the team and coaches.
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots traveled to No. 7 BYU and No. 18 San Diego for a challenging weekend on the road.
• The Cougars swept the Pilots on Thursday night before the team traveled to San Diego for another difficult match on Saturday. Though Portland held two sizeable leads on the Toreros in different sets on Saturday, USD completed both comeback set wins to also overcome the Pilots in three.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The program welcomed six true freshmen to The Bluff as one of the top Portland recruiting classes in Pilot history. The newcomers ranked in the top-55 nationally and top-three in the West Coast Conference. Liz Reich and Kassidy Naone hold All-American honors from several publications, while Carey Williams was named to the Defensive Dandy Third-Team.
• The Pilots were picked to place third in conference going into preseason, marking the highest ever vote for the program in the Preseason Poll. Troutman was also named to the All-WCC Preseason team.
• Portland claimed the Rumble in the Rockies tournament title to start the 2017 season and were also named the Champions of the Lobo Classic.
• Senior Hannah Troutman currently leads the WCC in attacks per set (12.63) and total attacks (960). She ranks second in conference in kills per set (4.04), points (340), points per set (4.47), and total kills (307). Nationally, the Pilot also sits at ninth in the nation in attacks per set.
• Sophomore Cali Thompson is second in league in total assists (788) and third in assists per set (10.37).
• Sophomore Barker ranks second in conference in aces per set (11.54), digs per set (15.74), team attacks per set (37.50), team digs (1,196), team service aces (117), and team total attacks (2,850).
