Dates:.................................Thursday, Sept. 1 to Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011
Location:..................................................................................Portland, Ore.

Arena:........................................................................  Chiles Center (4,852)
Teams:.................................... Portland (1-2), Butler (0-3), Nevada (0-3),

Thursday 9/1............................................ PORTLAND vs. Butler - noon

Friday 9/2.............................. Washington State vs. Nevada - 10:00 a.m.

Saturday 9/3...................................     Nevada vs. Texas A&M - 10:00 a.m.

......................................... PORTLAND vs. Nevada - 7:30 p.m.
Live Stats (all matches): portlandpilots.com 

 

• The Pilots play their first home matches of the 2011 season this weekend as they host the 8th Nike Portland Invitational.

• It is the 17th Portland Invitational in the program’s history.

• Portland and Texas A&M will meet for the first time on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

• UP and Nevada played against each other in the season opener with the Pilots winning 3-2 (26-24, 23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-12).

• Portland went 1-2 overall at the Aztec Invitational.

• Junior OH Kate Bostwick (35 kills, 26 digs, 5 blocks) earned her first career All-Tournament Honors.

 

• The Pilots went 12-16 last season, totalling their highest win total since 2004.

• Portland’s four road victories were the most since 1997 and their five West Coast Conference wins were the highest since 1998.

• Defeated Wichita State to capture Shocker Classic for first tournament championship since 2004.

• Returners Kati Hronek, Marissa Plummer, and Ariel Usher earned All-WCC Honorable Mention last season.

• Portland returns nine letter winners, including five starters.

• The Pilots welcome five freshmen to this year’s squad.

• Key loss from last season in libero Danielle Dupar, who graduated after setting the school’s new single-season digs record (360), finishing 13th in the nation in digs per set (5.50), and earning WCC Co-Defensive Player of the Year.

 

• 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.

 

• UP is entering its second year of providing fans with ‘GameCentral’, which is a free portal via PortlandPilots.com that offers live video, live audio and live stats all on the same page.

• ‘GameCentral’ is available for every home game.

• The internet broadcast will feature a three-four camera production this season with instant replays.

 

• 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.

 

• 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.