//Complete release attached.

The University of Portland’s women’s volleyball team returns to the Chiles Center this Thursday and Friday for its first home games in almost six weeks. The Pilots take on San Francisco (13-6, 0-3 WCC) on Thursday and No. 25 Saint Mary’s (12-3, 3-0 WCC) on Friday.

The Pilots are coming off a difficult road trip where they faced No. 15 San Diego and No. 14 Santa Clara, losing both matches by 3-0 scores. Nicole Thometz led Portland with 17 kills over the weekend, while Murphy McClenahan and Sara Vercruyssen paced the squad defensively with 17 digs each.

Portland faces San Francisco (13-6, 0-3 WCC) on Thursday night. The Dons broke a four-match losing streak on Tuesday with a 3-0 win against Bucknell. Besides Portland, San Francisco is the only WCC team still searching for its first conference win.

Ranked No. 25 in the NCAA in the latest CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll, Saint Mary’s (12-3, 3-0 WCC) comes to town for a Friday night affair. The powerful Gaels have rattled off three straight wins to begin conference play, taking out San Francisco, Loyola Marymount, and Pepperdine. The Gaels’ Missie Stidham earned WCC Player of the Week honors after recording 55 kills and 34 digs last weekend.

Portland will be collecting donations of Spanish newspaper subscriptions for the TEARS school during both matches. Subscription cards will be available at the Chiles Center. $25 guarantees a month’s subscription for the school, while a donation of $300 will give the school a year-long subscription.

"We’re asking for the university and the community to get involved," Portland head coach Doug Sparks said. "This is a great opportunity to support a great cause."

Match times for both Thursday and Friday are scheduled for 7:00 p.m.