PORTLAND, Ore., --- The Pilots topped Pepperdine 3-1 in a West Coast Conference match on Thursday night in the Chiles Center as Portland notched its first ever season sweep over the Waves. The Pilots produced set scores of 25-23, 25-21, 23-25, and 25-22 to en route to the win.
 
The win is also Portland's third straight overall, following last weekend's road sweep, and it puts the Pilots alone in fourth place of the WCC standings.
 
The Pilots (14-10, 7-5 WCC) jumped out to a 6-1 lead to start the first set with back-to-back kills from Hannah Troutman and a kill from Katie Sullivan. The Waves (10-15, 4-9 WCC) responded with kills from Hannah Frohling and Jenna Tunnell to spark a four-point run. Now tied 10-10, Pepperdine continued their momentum to go on another run to surge ahead. Troutman and Reghan Pukis combined for kills moments later to close the gap and bring the Pilots within one. Portland then reclaimed the lead late at 23-22, and Troutman came through with the last two points to hand the first set to the home team.
 
With Pepperdine leading the second set, the Pilots produced a six-point run to take an 8-6 lead. Following a kill from Pukis, Brittney Markwith and Sarah Savoca collected a crucial block to continue the Portland momentum at 15-11. Pepperdine then went on a run to climb within 22-19, but Markwith recorded a key kill to help the Pilots win the set 25-21.
 
The two teams battled through the first few points of the third set before the Pilots recorded three separate blocks, along with a kill by Pukis to take the lead 8-5. The Waves then fought back to lead the Pilots by three with kills from Tunnell and Jasmine Gross. Markwith and Sullivan answered by recording kills, which were followed with a team block from Pukis, Markwith, and Sullivan to close the gap. Monica Gajda then added an ace and Troutman and Sullivan registered kills to try and complete the comeback, but Pepperdine held on to the deciding points for the set win.
 
Robinson started the fourth set with a kill and an ace, followed by another ace from Gajda and Sullivan kill to give the Pilots an early 6-2. Troutman then produced three kills to increase Portland's advantage to four. Pepperdine recovered to force a 13-13 tie, and the two teams would exchange the next several points. A kill from Pukis and an ace from Cali Thompson then put the Pilots within reach of the win, and Troutman capped the set and the match with a pair of kills.

"I thought we did some things well this match. We passed pretty well, we had some good serves, and good defense, but our offense was sputtering a bit. We had a tough time getting kills," said head coach Brent Crouch. "So we will be back in the gym to try and clean that up a bit."
 
Troutman led the team with a double-double, finishing with 22 kills and 19 digs. Pukis also reached double digit kills with 10. Robinson led the Pilots in digs with 24, followed by Gajda with 23, and Thompson with 13. Sullivan almost reached double-digits in blocks with eight and Thompson recorded 43 assists.
 
The Pilots will next return to action at home on Saturday afternoon at 1 pm against LMU.