SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. --- The Portland Pilots completed yet another incredible comeback, this time coming from two sets down to defeat the San Francisco Dons 3-2 on Saturday afternoon in a West Coast Conference match at War Memorial Stadium. This is the fourth 0-2 road comeback that the Pilots have completed this year, with the first three coming at Oregon State, at Mississippi State and at Pepperdine.
 
The Pilots overcame the Dons in five sets, with scores of 28-30, 17-25, 25-23, 25-11, and 15-12. Portland improves to 13-10 overall and to 6-5 in the WCC, which ties the Pilots with Gonzaga for fourth place.
 
The win also gives the Pilots their first ever two-match, road conference weekend sweep since joining the WCC for volleyball in 1989. Portland defeated the Santa Clara Broncos 3-1 on Thursday night in Santa Clara.
 
After dropping the first two sets to the Dons, the Pilots began their comeback in the third set by closing a seven-point gap. Monica Gajda produced three service aces to help spark the seven-point run, which gave the Pilots a 20-19 lead. USF fought back to tie the set 21-21, before Reghan Pukis recorded a kill, which was accompanied by an ace from Cali Thompson to allow the Pilots to reclaim their lead.
 
San Francisco (4-21, 0-12 WCC) then tried to gain some momentum during the last few points, but Hannah Troutman claimed the final kill to complete the comeback for the Pilots, ending the set 25-23 in favor of the visitors.
 
The Pilots continued their momentum in the fourth set with three kills from Troutman and back-to-back aces from Emma Scanlan, which allowed Portland to take a commanding 19-8 lead. Pukis and Katie Sullivan then added their own kills to the mix, extending Portland's lead. Pukis then registered the deciding kill for Pilots to force a fifth set.
 
USF started the deciding set with a 4-2 lead, before Troutman and Sullivan recorded kills to close the gap. Pukis and Brittney Markwith added a pair of kills to tie it 9-9 and set up a thrilling finish. Gajda and Scanlan followed with service aces to give the Pilots a slim 13-12 edge, and Troutman sealed the win with consecutive kills to end the set 15-12.
 
Pukis led the Pilots with 19 kills, which was followed by Troutman with 16, Sullivan with 12, and Markwith with 11. Gajda led in digs with 21, and Troutman added 12 to record a double-double. Gajda and Scanlan also registered four aces each, while Thompson had 46 assists on the match.
 
The Pilots will next return home to continue conference play next week against Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount in the Chiles Center. First the Waves visit on Thursday night for a 7 p.m. match.