PORTLAND PILOTS (11-7, 1-5 WCC)
at SAN DIEGO TOREROS (11-6, 5-1 WCC)
Date: Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015
Location: San Diego, Calif.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Arena: Jenny Craig Pavilion
Live Stats: USDToreros.com
Live Video: TheW.tv
 
POR vs. USD
Overall Series: 7-49
Here: 5-23
There: 2-26
Neutral: 0-0
Last: @POR 0, USD 3, Nov. 22, 2014
 
PORTLAND PILOTS (11-7, 1-5 WCC)
at No. 13 BYU COUGARS (15-2, 5-1 WCC)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015
Location: Provo, Utah
Time: 12:00 p.m. (Pacific)
Arena: Smith Fieldhouse
Live Stats: BYUCougars.com
Live Video: TheW.tv
 
POR vs. BYU
Overall Series: 0-8
Here: 0-4
There: 0-4
Neutral: 0-0
Last: @POR 0, BYU 3, Nov. 20, 2014
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots hit the road for a pair of games against a couple of WCC power houses in USD and BYU.
• First up, the Pilots will take on the USD Toreros at 7:00 p.m. at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, Calif. This will be the 57th meeting between the two sides with the Toreros controlling the record 49-7. Last time Portland played USD was on Nov. 22, 2014 in the Chiles Center with the match falling in favor of the visitors 3-0.
• Portland will then head north to the cooler climate of Provo, Utah to take on BYU for the ninth time in program history on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. (PST). The Pilots have never beaten the Cougars who made it to the NCAA Championship match last year.
• Live stats will be available for both of the matches on USDToreros.com and BYUCougars.com, and a live stream of both matches can be found on TheW.tv.
 
LAST WEEKEND
• Portland dropped a pair of matches at home to the Pepperdine Waves and LMU Lions to bring their conference record to 1-5.
• Portland played Pepperdine tough, but were unable to close out the final two sets allowing the Waves to take the road win. The set scores were 21-25, 25-18, 23-25, and 23-25.
• On Saturday afternoon, the Pilots hosted LMU who won the match in three thanks to some steller blocking at the net and digs. 
 
 
A HISTORICAL START
• The Pilots had not started the season off 11-2 since 1981 when the program competed at the NAIA level.
• Portland went on a ten match win streak through the middle of non-conference play. This was a feat that had never been accomplished while playing at the D1 level. The last time the Pilots won ten in a row was in 1985.
 
HOW 'BOUT THAT WCC
• Last year the BYU Cougars made it to the National Championship match before losing to Penn State 3-0. This year they have not let up as they have been in the national ranks during every poll.
• BYU is not the only WCC school getting national attention. Both USD and Pacific have appeared in the top 25 list while San Francisco, Santa Clara, Gonzaga, and LMU have all been receiving votes during at least one poll.
• In the RPI ranking, the WCC proves to be one of the best conferences in the country. Eight programs are in the top 70 with the Pilots sitting at 123 and Saint Mary's has the highest RPI at 153.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland has five freshman on the roster in Jocelyn Peterson, Lauren Naatz, Katie Barker, and Mikaela Nocetti. Hannah Troutman is in her first year on The Bluff after spending her freshman year at Oregon State.
• The team is still very young with only one senior on the roster in Emily Liger. The junior class is the largest class with five Pilots.
• Head coach Brent Crouch is in his second year at the helm. Joining him in her second year is Nellie Coleman.
• The Pilots were the unofficial champions of the Rose City Classic during the second weekend of the season with wins over Portland State, Nevada, Grand Canyon, and UC Riverside.
• In the final weekend of non-conference play the Pilots won the Fresno State Classic and Lindburg and Markwith earned All-Tournament honors.
• The Pilots are currently ranked 27th in the nation in digs per set with 16.65.
• Liger was awarded the US Bank Student-Athlete of the Month for the month of September after leading the team offensively to a 10-2 record during the month.
 
2015 NORTH HARBOUR MARRIOTT CHAMPIONS
• Portland won the 2015 North Harbour Marriott Invitational with wins over St. Francis Brooklyn, Idaho, and Cal Poly.
• The Pilots won the first two matches of the invitational three sets to none, but the win over Cal Poly on Saturday night was a nail biting five sets.
• Emily Liger earned the Offensive MVP award with her 48 kills during the weekend and Morgan Robinson was awarded the Defensive MVP award after being a solid force in the back row for the Pilots. Hannah Troutman was named to the All-Tournament team with her all around defense and offensive effort.
attacks per set.