Box Score    I   Box Score (pdf)

PROVO, Utah --- The Portland Pilots held strong in the second and third sets, but the No. 11 BYU Cougars took the match in three at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon. BYU (11-2, 2-0) won their second WCC match with set scores of 25-16, 25-22, and 25-21. Portland (5-8, 0-2) was led by sophomore Makayla Lindburg, who had 12 kills during the match.
 
BYU started off strong controlling much of the first set and the momentum.  The Cougars had a .435 team hitting percentage en route to the set win. Sophomore Makayla Lindburg led the Pilots with four kills on the game.
 
Portland rebounded in the second set, as the Pilots and Cougars battled for the win, but BYU edged away late to take the 2-0 match lead.  The two sides were tied 14 times during the set and neither team led by more than three points. Freshman Sarah Savoca started off the scoring for Portland with her first of four kills during the set, tying the score at 1-1. Sophomore Djurdjina Milovic had a service ace which gave the Pilots their biggest lead of the set at 7-5. Points rotated between the Cougars and the Pilots through the set without either team gaining any momentum. With the score tied at 19-19, BYU's All-American Jennifer Hamson earned a kill that gave the Cougars the lead and the momentum to win the set. Defensively, senior Katie Mardesich led the team with seven digs.
 
The Cougars gained early momentum after a four point run put them in the lead 9-5. Portland took advantage of a couple BYU errors and a pair of kills by Lindburg to close the lead to 12-10. Then, with the score at 16-11, senior Emily Liger had two kills in a row, Mardesich added a service ace, and then sophomore Brittney Markwith contributed a kill to bring the Pilots within two of the Cougars at 16-14. Portland earned a well deserved point after a long rally, which included the Pilots playing the ball off of the ceiling, to again limit the Cougar lead to two, at 19-17. BYU held off the Pilots to claim the set and match. Liger and Lindburg had four sets a-piece during the set.
 
Mardesich finished the match with 19 digs, while freshman Ali Koumelis and Milovic had 18 and 16 assists, respectively.
 
The Pilots will be home for the first time this season on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 7:00 p.m. when nationally ranked Loyola Marymount comes to the Chiles Center.