The WCC journey begins this weekend for the Portland Pilots as they hit the road for two matches in California. On Thursday evening, Portland faces San Francisco at War Memorial Gym in San Francisco, Calif. at 7:00 p.m.
The weekend away concludes with a Saturday match against the No. 16 ranked San Diego Toreros. The first serve is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, Calif.
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 are coming off a bye weekend and some much needed rest after playing their last eight matches away. Portland closes out the preseason with a 5-10 record and most recently posted a win and two losses at the Hawkeye Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa. The Pilots defeated DePaul 3-1 after falling to Tulsa 3-1 and Iowa 3-0. Pilot freshman Marissa Plummer was honored with a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Portland has faced some solid non-conference competition, with matches against three ranked opponents. Match experience against No. 9 Washington, No. 12 Oregon and No. 20 Kansas State should help the Pilots as they break into conference play.
Scouting San Francisco
The Dons (10-4) went undefeated at home last weekend, earning them a three game winning streak. San Francisco defeated Penn 3-2 and Seattle 3-0 on their home court of War Memorial Gym. Against Penn, the Dons put up a 20.0 block performance, setting the WCC match-high.
The Dons’ preseason saw them play one ranked team, No. 9 California, which ended in a 3-0 loss. Defensively, San Francisco is led by junior libero Haley Carroll, who leads the WCC in services aces (29) and total digs (245). Carroll is coming off a strong campaign from last year, landing the WCC defensive player of the year spot, and making the 2007 All-WCC Team list. The Dons’ attack is led by seniors Carly Babin and Alix Gombos, who are first and second in the WCC hitting percentage, with .412 and .398 respectively.
Head Coach Gilad Doran is in his second season with the Dons who went 17-13 last fall. Nine leterwinners and five starters return this season. In the last meeting between the two teams, San Francisco won 3-1 in Portland, Ore.
Scouting San Diego
The No. 16 Toreros, who sit at 10-2, open WCC play gunning for a third straight WCC championship. Recently, San Diego defeated UC Riverside and Seattle in identical 3-0 margins, before falling to No. 9 Washington 3-0.
The San Diego attack is paced by Amy Mahinalani DeGroot, a junior outside hitter named to the 2007 All-WCC team, and Ali Troost, a sophomore who was named to the 2007 All-WCC Freshmen team. Torero senior setter Jessica Nyrop is 17th in the nation in assists per game at the end of the preseason. As a team, San Diego ranks fifth in assists per game and kills per game. Defensively, San Diego looks to junior libero Andrea Csaszi to stop the attack. Csaszi leads the Toreros with 4.14 digs/set.
Head coach Jennifer Petrie is in her ninth season with the Toreros who went 21-8 overall last season, and won the WCC championship. 11 letterwinners and four starters returned this fall. In the last meeting between the two teams, San Diego won 3-0 in Portland, Ore.
Coach Connection
Portland Assistant Coach Lindsey Sherburne will be facing up against her alma mater this weekend. Sherburne is a former San Diego Torero and the all-time assist leader in WCC history.
Around the WCC
In other conference play on Thursday, October 2nd, Gonzaga plays at No. 16 San Diego, LMU at No. 23 Santa Clara, No. 15 Pepperdine at Saint Mary’s.
On Saturday, October 4th, Gonzaga plays at San Francisco, LMU at Saint Mary’s, and two ranked opponents go face-to-face with No. 15 Pepperdine at No. 23 Santa Clara.
Trio of Seniors
In their final campaign as Portland Pilots, seniors K.C. Fox, Ashley Grayson and Jennifer Sheedy are lifting up the team this season, all playing pivotal roles. The reliable trio is sharing the leadership and each player has come up big in clutch moments during the preseason. Grayson, a middle blocker who can play multiple positions, is leading the team with 2.83 kills per set with a total of 153. Grayson has also put up 27 total blocks so far, four of those solo.
Sheedy, Grayson’s counterpart in the middle, is building on her solid junior year connecting on 145 kills (2.64 per set) and leads the team with 35 total blocks, including nine solos.
Fox, an outsider hitter, continues to be consistent this season both offensively and defensively. She has an average of 1.74 kills per set (94 total), 1.46 digs per set (79 total), 13 total blocks and is second on the team in service aces with 14.
NKOTB Energizing the Squad
The Pilot newcomers have quickly integrated the team, contributing on both sides of the ball. The 6-2 freshman middle blocker Marissa Plummer is second on the team in total blocks with 28, seven of which are solos, and freshman libero Allix Strahon is third on the team in digs with 99 and 2.15 per set. Also shouldering some of the attack, Plummer has consistently held the team high attacking percentage, which is now at .341, connecting on 1.91 kills per set (84 total). Plummer was recently named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2008 Iowa Hawkeye Challenge.
The 6-0 outside hitter Katie Hronek, who hails from Kent, Wash., is also helping to reinforce the net this season. Hronek has seen floor time in eight matches this season, while the athletic outside hitter Robyn Hall, from Hayward, Calif., has seen action in seven games so far. Rounding out the newcomers is Rachel Fleming, an outside hitter from Vancouver, Wash., who also stands at 6-0.
The Career Charts
Four-year starters Ashley Grayson and Jennifer Sheedy have both landed on UP’s all-time career charts. Sheedy ranks fifth on the all-time attack percentage chart with a mark of .260 and ninth on the block assists list with 184. Grayson is seventh on the career block assists list with 210 and she is eighth in total blocks with 254 and tied for ninth in blocks per set at 0.78.
Sheedy, who recorded 280 kills last year, is now just 30 kills from cracking the top-ten list in that category. She recently broke into the top-ten all-time blocks list with 237.
Danielle Dupar is ranked fifth on the career digs per set list with 3.11.
The Clemenses
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 so far this season, in service aces (22) and digs per set (2.46). 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 senior Ashley Grayson is featured this week in the college news section of the newspaper The Columbian. Check out www.portlandpilots.com for the full article.
