Week 13 Notes

PORTLAND PILOTS (15-12, 8-7 WCC)
WEEK 13: vs. SAINT MARY'S / PACIFIC/ GONZAGA
 
Saint Mary's Gaels (11-15, 6-9 WCC)
Day: Thursday
Date: Nov. 17, 2016
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 7:00 PM
Facility: Chiles Center
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. SMC
Overall Series: 21-41
H: 13-17 • A: 10-23 • N: 0-0
Last: POR 3, @ SMC 1 (9/24/2016)
 
Pacific Tigers (14-13, 8-7 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Nov. 19, 2016
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 1:00 PM
Facility: Chiles Center
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. PAC
Overall Series: 0-9
H: 0-3 • A: 0-5 • N: 0-1
Last: @PAC 3, POR 1 (9/22/2016)
 
Gonzaga Bulldogs (14-11, 7-8 WCC)
Day: Monday
Date: Nov. 21, 2016
Place: Portland, Ore.
Time: 5:00 PM
Facility: Chiles Center
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. GON
Overall Series: 22-44
H: 12-18 • A: 7-24 • N: 1-2 • U: 2-0
Last: @GON 3, POR 0 (10/22/2016)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots will host their final three West Coast Conference matches of the regular season in the Chiles Center.
• Portland will first take on Saint Mary's Thursday night at 7 p.m.
• Saturday afternoon, the Pilots will play Pacific at 1 p.m.
• Monday evening, the senior class of 2016 consisting of Katie Sullivan, Brittney Markwith, Monica Gajda, and Djurdjina Milovic will be honored before the Pilots face Gonzaga in their last match of conference, which will start at 5 p.m.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots made their final road trip of the season memorable as they claimed the biggest win in program history, defeating No. 7 San Diego 3-2 in San Diego on Thursday night.
• The seventh ranked Toreros are the highest ranked opponent the Pilots have ever defeated, and its San Diego's first loss at home this season.
• Reghan Pukis led the Pilots with 12 kills and Hannah Troutman recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs. Monica Gajda and Emma Scanlan also had double digit digs for the match with 16 and 10, respectively.
• The Pilots then traveled to Provo, Utah to take on No. 12 BYU, where they were topped in three sets.
• Troutman had her second straight double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs. Gajda led in digs with 1.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots have two historical wins this season, defeating then-No. 11 BYU at home on Oct. 13 and holding off No. 7 San Diego on the road on Nov. 10; the Pilots are the only WCC yeam to defeat both the Cougars and Toreros this season, and it was USD's first home loss of the fall.
• With eight WCC wins, the Pilots have recorded the most league victories since 1989.
• Portland also sits in fourth place in the WCC, which would be the highest conference placing since 1991.
• The Pilots are currently 22nd in the nation and first in the WCC in aces per set (1.63). They also rank 21st nationally and first in conference in total aces (171).
• Junior transfer Hannah Troutman is one of several Pilots among the league's statistical rankings, ranking first in the league for total points (448.5), total kills (394), and total attacks (1187). She also ranks second in attacks per set (11.30) and third in points per set (4.27) and kills per set (3.75).
• Freshman Cali Thompson is first in the WCC in total assists (1021), second in assists per sets (9.72) and third in service aces (33). Only in her first year on The Bluff, Thompson is already making strides by ranking fifth in Pilot history in assists per set (9.72).
• Senior Katie Sullivan is third in the league for total blocks (114) and fourth in blocks per set (1.09). She also ranks second all-time at UP in career blocks assists (323), fourth in blocks per set (.95), and fifth in total blocks (363).
• Senior Monica Gajda ranks second in aces (35), second in aces per set in the league (.34), and fourth in digs per set (4.17). All-time she ranks ninth in digs per set (3.01) and 11th in digs (998)
• Opening the 2016 season, the Pilots defeated all three tournament host teams they faced, and outright won the Maroon Classic (Sept. 16-17) in Starkville, Miss. At the Bulldog Showdown (Sept. 2-3) Thompson, Mandon, and Sullivan received All-Tournament honors at the Maroon Classic, and Gajda was named Best Libero.
• On one of the Pilots' first road trips of conference, they defeated the Pepperdine Waves in Malibu for the second time ever.
• Head coach Brent Crouch is in his third year at the helm, joined by first-year assistant coaches Jeff Baxter and Betsy Sedlak. Rick Moller also joined the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant.
• Last year was historic for the program as the Pilots claimed several impressive accomplishments, including the best ever start to a season (10-1).
• 2015 also marked the most homes wins (10) in program history since competing at the NCAA D1 level, and the Pilots swept then-No. 23 San Diego for their first ever program victory over a ranked team.
• Current junior Brittney Markwith recorded the second most blocks in a season in program history in 2015 with a total of 119. She also ranks fifth all time at Portland in block assists (305), is sixth in total blocks (332), and is 10th in blocks per set (.81).
 
 
TERRIFIC SEASON FOR TROUTMAN
• Junior Hannah Troutman, who is in her second season with the Pilots after coming north from Oregon State, received WCC Player of the Week Honors for the week of October 18th, following the upset victory over No. 11 BYU. The junior averaged 4.00 kills, 3.38 digs and 4.38 point per set against a pair of top-15 opponents.
• She also earned All-Tournament Honors at the Bulldog Showdown (Sept. 2-3) and landed tourney MVP at the Maroon Classic.
• Troutman is also already leaving her mark in the program's record books. She currently ranks fifth all-time in kills per game (3.42), seventh in digs per set (3.23) and ninth in points per set (3.9).