Portland, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots opened up West Coast Conference play with a 3-0 win over the Saint Mary's Gaels on Thursday night in the Chiles Center. The Pilots were led by Brittney Markwith who tallied 14 kills on a .684 hitting percentage.

Portland (11-2, 1-0 WCC) beat Saint Mary's (5-6, 0-1 WCC) for the first time since 2006 with set scores of 25-20, 25-23, and 25-23.

Markwith started her scoring early in the match by earning the first point of the first set. Saint Mary's had a slim early advantage before Sarah Savoca and Makayla Lindburg paired up on a block to tie the set at six, then Hannah Troutman added a kill down the line and Morgan Robinson contributed a service ace to put the Pilots up 8-6. Portland controlled play through the remainder of the set and went on to take the win 25-20. Markwith and Lindburg were combined nine-for-nine on attacks.

Portland went on an early 5-1 run to take an 8-5 lead in the second. The Gaels worked back to tie the set at nine, which then sent the Pilots on a run with Troutman hitting three kills and Markwith adding one of her own to give the Pilots a four point lead. Saint Mary's did not let up and won a long rally to close the gap to two at 16-14. Djurdjina Milovic set up Markwith for a kill to put the Pilots at set point. The Gaels held off one set point to put the score at 24-23, but Emily Liger gave the home side the second set win with her eight kill of the match.

The two sides battled through the third set. Markwith hit one high off of the Gael block and out of bounds to tie the set 7-7. The teams were tied once again at nine after a long rally-which included a kick save Saint Mary's-ended with a kill by Liger. The Gaels gained the momentum and jumped to a three point lead at 12-9, which the visiting side held until Monica Gajda used a pair of service aces to take the 18-16. Liger tipped the ball over the opposing block to set the Pilots up for match point. The Gaels held off two match points before committing an error and conceding the set and match to the Pilots.

Portland returns to the Chiles Center on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. when the #23 Pacific Tigers come to town.