PORTLAND PILOTS (11-10, 1-8 WCC)
vs. SAN FRANCISCO DONS (16-7, 3-7 WCC)
Date: Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015
Location: Portland, Ore.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Arena: Chiles Center
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Live Video: TheW.tv
 
POR vs. USF
Overall Series: 23-37
Here: 13-14
There: 10-23
Neutral: 0-0
Last: @ USF 3, POR 0, Oct. 3, 2015
 
PORTLAND PILOTS (11-10, 1-8 WCC)
vs. SANTA CLARA BRONCOS (17-5, 8-2 WCC)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015
Location: Portland, Ore.
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Arena: Chiles Center
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Live Video: TheW.tv
 
POR vs. SCU
Overall Series: 7-50
Here: 4-23
There: 3-26
Neutral: 0-1
Last: @ SCU 3, POR 0, Oct. 1, 2015
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots return home after a two week road stint to host a pair of Bay Area teams in San Francisco and Santa Clara.
• Portland will host the USF Dons on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. in the Chiles Center. This will be the 61st meeting between the two programs with the visitors from The City owning a 37-23 edge. This is the second time this season that these two sides will play each other. The Dons won at home on Oct. 3 in three sets.
• The Pilots last played the Santa Clara Broncos on Oct. 1 in Santa Clara, Calif. The Broncos edged out the Pilots in five sets for their 50th win over Portland in program history. The two sides will face each other again on Saturday at 21:00 p.m. in the Chiles Center.
• Live stats will be available for both matches on PortlandPilots.com and a live stream of the events can be found on TheW.tv.
 
LAST WEEKEND
• The Pilots took on fellow Northwest West Coast Conference school Gonzaga.
• The  Bulldogs used the home court to their advantage as they topped the Pilots in three sets. Portland struggled a bit in the first set, but was almost able to pull out sets two and three. Gonzaga's Savannah Blinn was able to close out those sets for the home side and win their fourth match of conference play.
• Junior middle blocker Katie Sullivan seemed back to full strength during the match recording a team and match high 16 kills.
 
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 76 with the Pilots sitting at 136 and Saint Mary's has the highest RPI at 158.
 
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 31st 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.