MORAGA, Calif. --- The Portland Pilots lost in four sets at the McKeon Pavilion on Saturday afternoon, losing a competitive match against the Saint Mary's Gaels. Despite every set coming down to the wire, the Pilots would fall to the Gaels with set scores of 20-25, 23-25, 25-20, and 22-25.

In an exciting match, the Portland Pilots (15-5, WCC 3-5) came back in every set to either make it a close finish or to take it back themselves.

"Saint Mary's is a really good volleyball team. They did a great job, playing great defense and had some tough serves to react too" head coach Jeff Baxter said post-match. "We learned a lot about ourselves this match and things we can and will upgrade."

Junior Katie Barker had a career-high 17 kills, while junior Shayla Hoeft and senior Reghan Pukis had 15 and 13 kills respectively. Junior Cali Thompson had 50 assists and seven digs, while sophomore Izzy Guzik had 15 digs and eight kills.

The first set began with both teams battling for the lead, as Saint Mary's (13-5, 5-3) acquired it early but had to constantly buck off multiple Pilot runs, featuring a 3-0 run to make it 7-8 and two straight kills by Pukis to make it 9-10. The Pilots would eventually tie the first set at 13-13 with a 4-0 run driven by two kills by sophomore Liz Reich. The Gaels would remain calm, and go on to take the first set at 25-20.

Once again, the second set started off with both teams going point for point. The Gaels broke through first, going on a 5-1 run to take the lead at 14-10.  Always fighting, the Pilots would continually claw their way back into set, with Shayla Hoeft's ninth kill of the match cutting the deficit to 21-22. The Gaels were able to weather the storm however, and would win the second set at 25-23.

The Gaels would come out for the third set seeking to accomplish the sweep, but Pukis would have none of it: with the Pilots down 3-6, Pukis had four kills in a 5-0 Pilot run to take the lead at 10-6. The Gaels would have their own strong run, going on a 10-2 run to take the lead back from the Pilots at 18-16. Determined to not to be swept, the Pilots would go on a 4-0 run to retake the lead at 21-20, and would finish the set on a 5-0 run featuring three kills by Pukis to take the third set at 25-20.

Following the theme of the night, the Pilots and Gaels would exchange points to begin the fourth set. Saint Mary's would separate themselves first, going a 6-2 run to take the lead and increase it to 20-16. Despite a late 3-0 run by the Pilots to make it 22-24, the Gaels would go on to win the set and win the match, taking the fourth set at 25-22.

Next week, the Pilots fly north to Spokane and take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre at noon Pacific time.