SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The Portland Pilots volleyball team won a hard-fought match, winning in four sets against Santa Clara at the Leavey Center on Thursday night. The Pilots won with set scores of 25-20, 23-25, 25-18 and 25-15.

Junior Cali Thompson had a night to remember, recording a double-double with 34 assists and 11 digs while having a career-high six service aces. Sophomore Izzy Guzik led the way offensively, having 15 kills and added five digs.

"(I'm) excited with how scrappy we stayed throughout the match," head coach Jeff Baxter said post-match. "I thought we gave a great effort from beginning to end. Can't wait to upgrade a few things in practice tomorrow."

The match began as a back and forth affair, with the Pilots first gaining separation with two straight kills by Guzik to take the lead at 7-5. The first set would continue on like this until Thompson was set to serve with the score at 22-20. She would fire three straight service aces past the Bronco's, taking the first set for the Pilots at 25-20.

Working toward regaining momentum, Santa Clara came out in the second set to a 10-5 lead and the led the rest of the way. The Pilots didn't go without a fight, going on a late 4-0 run led by a service ace and an assist by sophomore Carey Williams to make it 18-21. The Broncos would weather the storm however, winning the second set at 25-23.

With the match up for grabs, the Pilots opened up the third set on an 8-2 run to take control of the set early. They'd continue their impressive run of play, going on a 5-0 run capitalized by one of senior Reghan Pukis's 10 kills to increase their lead to 15-7, and would eventually take the third set at 25-18.

Seeking to capitalize on their third set performance, the Pilots would go on a plethora of 3-0 runs (four in-total) to dominate the fourth set, taking it at 25-15.

The Pilots finish their Bay Area road-trip against San Francisco, playing at the War Memorial Gym on Saturday, November 3^rd at noon.