Box Score

Femling and Usher Pilot Pilots to Victory in Five Set Thriller
 
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. --- Seniors Rachel Femling and Ariel Usher dialed up the pressure in the fifth set once again as the Portland Pilots defeated the Eastern Illinois Panthers (21-25, 25-18, 25-16, 26-28, 15-11) in a five set thriller Saturday afternoon at Recreation Hall in the Penn State Classic. The duo accounted for six kills in the final set, including four straight towards the end to give the Pilots a 14-11 lead.
 
After Eastern Illinois (3-8) opened the fifth set with a 3-0 lead, Femling got the Pilots (6-7) going with a kill off the slide. Two more points from the Panthers pushed the Pilots into an early corner, but Portland was unwavering as Usher unleashed a powerful attack into open court.
 
Fellow senior Kate Bostwick joined the veteran spark with a kill of her own, further swinging the momentum back to the Pilots. A few plays later, sophomore middle blocker Bea Loper caught the Panthers flat-footed with back-to-back kills to tie the set for the first time at 7-7.
 
Junior outside hitter Autumn Wedan 20th kill of the match retied the score at nine and then teamed up with Femling on a double block to give the Pilots a 10-9 lead. The seniors took the reigns of the match fully in their hands as Usher pushed an attack into the back right corner.
 
After Eastern Illinois took the next two points to tie the match, Femling drove her attack right in between a trio of helpless defenders. Usher followed suit with a slow motion wind up, sending her attack straight past a solo block. On the very next play, Femling turned an overpass into her third kill of the set.
 
Sophomore setter Monica Jordan then redirected an Eastern Illinois attack Wedan’s way to keep the Pilots a perfect 5-0 in five set matches.
 
The stat sheet was filled for both programs. Wedan (.375) and Loper (.318) posted new career-highs in kills with 21 and 11, respectively, while Usher (.318) tallied 16 as the Pilots hit .305 for the match, the second-best mark for the team this year.
 
Wedan also picked up 12 digs for her third double-double of the season. Eastern Illinois’ Abby Saalfrank became the team’s first player since 1998 to record two triple-doubles in a season, collecting 21 assists, 10 kills, and 10 digs.
 
Portland concludes its stay at the Penn State Classic against Duquesne at 1 p.m. as the five set match gave the Pilots one hour in between matches.