PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots Beach Volleyball team will compete in the second annual Monterey College Invitational this weekend at Window by The Bay Park (Monterey Bay Park Sand Courts) in Monterey, Calif. The IMUA Volleyball Club has partnered once again with the San Jose State University Beach program to host this Division 1 women's college beach volleyball invitational.
 
The Pilots (2-0), who enter the weekend coming off of a sweep against Oregon with two 3-2 victories, will first take on No. 3 UCLA (6-2) at 9 a.m. on Friday. Next comes match-ups with conference-foe San Francisco (0-5) and tournament host San Jose State (3-1), which are also scheduled for Friday at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. The Bruins have an impressive resume so far, posting wins against then No. 2 Florida State, No. 7 Georgia State, and No. 10 LSU in the East meets West Invitational. Their only two losses of the season came against No. 1 Southern California and No. 2 Pepperdine. The Spartans and Dons faced each other at the beginning of their seasons, with San Jose claiming a 5-0 victory over the Dons.
 
On Saturday, the Pilots will hit the sand again against Saint Mary's (5-2) and No. 13 Grand Canyon (8-2) at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. The Gaels gave then No. 16 Stanford their first loss of the year a few days ago with a 4-1 victory. A week earlier, No. 14 Cal edged the Gaels 3-2 before Saint Mary's recovered to post a 3-2 win over No. 15 Cal Poly at the Stanford Tournament. The Lopes two losses of their season come from defeats against No. 5 Hawaii and No. 15 South Carolina.
 
"Monterey will be a great measuring tool for us, as we get to battle against some of the top teams in the country and see how we stack up," said Portland beach volleyball head coach Jeff Baxter. "We are looking forward for the opportunity to compete and grow at a high level."
 
Portland's Teams:
1's Thompson and Stephens
2's Troutman and Barker
3's Scanlan and Robinson
4's Savoca and Milovic
5's Gajda and Naatz
6's (exhibition) Sullivan and Markwith