Box Score I Gallery
 
PORTLAND, Ore. --- Sophomore OH Autumn Wedan recorded her second consecutive double-double to lead the Pilots with 11 kills and 11 digs Saturday afternoon at the Chiles Center. Freshman libero Katie Mardesich posted a match-high 22 digs but the Brigham Young Cougars captured the first ever meeting between the West Coast Conference programs, 3-1 (25-16, 25-17, 18-25, 25-15). Most fans donned pink apparel at the match, in recognition of raising support for breast cancer awareness.
 
The Cougars improve to 15-5 with the win, including a 4-2 record in the WCC. Portland falls to 7-14 with the loss, 1-7 in the WCC.
 
“I was really proud of the way we responded to some adverse situations, composed ourselves, and battled through that third set,” head coach Joe Houck said following the match. “We handled the ball better and played tougher defense and it was nice to ratchet up the intensity.”
 
Portland spread the ball around in the third set, establishing a balanced attack to stifle the Cougars. Junior OH Ariel Usher and senior OH Kati Hronek combined with Wedan and senior MB Marissa Plummer to establish the Pilots attack, as all four recorded three kills in the set. Plummer added two aces for the Pilots, while sophomore setter Monica Jordan chipped in two kills in the third set.
 
“Monica did an outstanding job of keeping the blockers off balance. She moved the ball well,” Houck said of Jordan. “We were ahead of the pace of play and used speed to our advantage, hitting transition points before the ball was contacted.
 
Jordan finished with 31 assists for the Pilots with nine digs and four kills.
 
Plummer finished with eight kills and four blocks for the Pilots. The native of Granite Bay, Calif., moves into third place on the Pilots All-Time block leaderboard passing Gretchen Sanders (287) again, this time in block assists. Earlier this season, Plummer passed Sanders in total blocks.
 
Many of the fans in attendance wore pink as part of a nation-wide program for breast cancer awareness. The Pilots wore special, pink shirts during warm-ups for the annual “Dig Pink” match, sponsored by the Side-Out Foundation. For more information about the national “Dig Pink” campaign, visit www.side-out.org.
 
The Pilots begin the second round of WCC play next week by hosting the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday at 1 p.m.