• Portland continues its road trip, wrapping up the season with a nationally televised match against the Brigham Young Cougars (13-11, 9-5 WCC).
• The match will air on BYUtv (DirecTV - 374, Comcast - 234) beginning at noon (PST).
• BYU defeated the Pilots in four sets earlier this year as freshman L Katie Mardesich tallied 22 digs and sophomore S Monica Jordan nearly posted a double-double with 31 assists and nine digs.
• Portland lost both of its road matches last week, a tight four set loss to USF and a sweep at the hands of Santa Clara.
• Junior OH Ariel Usher recorded a career-high with 24 kills against USF on a .353 attacking percentage, adding 12 digs.
• Senior OH Kati Hronek led the Pilots in the Santa Clara match with 11 kills and three blocks.
 
The Times They Are a-Changin’
• Portland’s season finale at BYU has changed from a 6 p.m. (PST) start time to a noon (PST) start time.
• Because of the time change, the match will air on BYUtv (DirecTV - 374, Comcast - 234).
 
Clog in the Middle? Call a Plummer
• Senior MB Marissa Plummer has established herself as one of the best middle blockers in school history.
• She has 103 total blocks this season, 22 solo and 81 assisted.
• Plummer ranks fourth in school history with 374 total blocks.
• 305 of her career blocks are of the assisted variety, ranking her third in school history, behind Christy Martin (319) and Beth Henson (407).
• During the Nike Portland Invitational, she tallied 37 kills, 15 blocks, and five aces to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
 
Cloud Nine
• Senior OH Kati Hronek continues to pepper opposing backcourts with success.
• Hronek is second on the team in both kills (265) and attacking percentage (.246),  and has also tallied 59 blocks on the year.
 
High Five
• Redshirt-junior MB Rachel Femling has been a solid contributor again this year for the Pilots.
• She is third on the team in attacking percentage while recording 160 kills and 69 blocks.
• Femling earned a spot on her first career All-Tournament Team at the Golden Dome Invitational after posting 18 kills on a .289 attacking percentage with 14 blocks.
• She recorded 10 blocks (9 assisted, 1 solo) against Lipscomb for her second career 10+ block match.
 
Autumn Springs and the Ball Falls
• Sophomore OH Autumn Wedan has become a steady source of points for the Pilots as the season has progressed.
• She averages 2.37 kills per set, posting 10+ kills in 11 of 12 matches earlier this season, including seven straight.
• Against the Saint Mary’s Gaels on Oct. 8, Wedan posted a career-high 19 kills on a .421 attacking percentage.
• Wedan made her first career All-Tournament Team (31 kills and 8 digs) at the Golden Dome Invitational.
 
MJ Sets the Scene
• Stepping into her first season as the Pilots’ primary setter, sophomore Monica Jordan has 948 assists so far this season.
• In addition to averaging 8.46 assists per set, Jordan has 69 kills on the season with 205 digs.
• On 10 occasions, she’s posted 40+ assists in a match, including five 50+ matches.
 
Ariel Assault, Part III
• Now in her junior season, OH Ariel Usher continues to find open court on her attacks.
• After a slow start to the season, she now leads the Pilots with 290 kills.
• At San Francisco, she posted a double-double with 12 digs and a career-high 24 kills.
• The home splits play out favorably for the native of Hillsboro, Ore. In 14 home matches, Usher’s per set averages were 2.72 kills, 1.73 digs, and .62 blocks.
 
Like a Boss-twick
• Junior OH Kate Bostwick has settled in as an offensive and defensive weapon this season.
• Named to the Portland Nike Invitational All-Tournament Team after recording 44 kills and 43 digs.
• Bostwick was also named to the Aztec Invitational All-Tournament Team (35 kills, 26 digs, 5 blocks), her first career All-Tournament Team.
 
New Kids on the Block
• Following the departure of libero Danielle Dupar, Jacqueline Rodriguez and Katie Mardesich have stepped up in their freshman seasons.
• Mardesich, a Portland native, leads the Pilots with an average of 3.24 digs per set while leading the team with 376 total, qualifying for the sixth best career average in school history.
• In conference play, Mardesich has averaged 4.10 digs per set.
• Rodriguez leads the team with 3.10 digs per set (158 total), qualifying for the sixth highest career average in school history (minimum 50 sets).
 
Take it to the Limit
• The Pilots defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Oct. 22 in their 11th five-set match of the season, a program record.
• Portland averages 4.14 sets/match, the most in the country.
• Of the 21 Division 1 schools that average 4.00 sets/match or more, two are members for the WCC (Portland - 4.19 and Saint Mary’s - 4.04) with two more just under 4.00 sets per match (Gonzaga - 3.96 and Pepperdine - 3.91).
• A sign of the program’s progress, the Pilots are playing deeper into matches over the last two seasons. Over this period, Portland has played in 19 matches that went five sets, equaling the combined total from 2003 to 2008.
 
A New Look...
• For the ?rst time in more than 30 years, the West Coast Conference has a new member as Brigham Young University formally joined the WCC last summer.
• The Cougars will field a team in 11 of the Conference’s 13 sponsored sports.
• With the change in membership, the WCC launched its new brand identity with a new logo, it’s first visual change since 1995.
 
Moore Bloggin’ on the Bluff
• Freshman OH/S Sam Moore takes the reins of the volleyball blog this season.
• Be sure to visit PortlandPilots.com/MooreBlog all season long to get an in-depth look at the UP Volleyball Program.
 
More Exposure
• And don’t forget to visit the team’s facebook page for exclusive updates, photos, and information. The page can be found by searching for ‘Portland Pilots Volleyball’ on the facebook home page.
 
Getting to Know the Pilots
• This week’s edition of Side-Out features Christina Harris, a sophomore outside hitter from Los Alamitos, Calif. Click below to watch the video!