PORTLAND, ORE. – The Portland Pilots volleyball team battled the Gonzaga Bulldogs in five sets in the Chiles Center in their final match of conference play Tuesday evening, as the Zags prevailed in the final set to take the win. Though the Pilots pulled ahead 2-1 after winning the third set, the Zags claimed the match with set scores of 23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 28-30, and 11-15.

The Pilots (18-12, WCC 6-12) finished the 2018 campaign with the most victories in a single season in program history, topping their previous high of 17 wins in 2016. They began the season on 12-match winning streak, another first for the program, and received votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll for the first time program history. West Coast Conference awards, including the All-WCC team and WCC All-Academic team, will be released on November 26^th and 27^th, respectively.

Portland had four different players with 11 kills, as sophomore Izzy Guzik led the match with a career-high with 20 kills, adding 11 digs to have a double-double. The Pilots defense made remarkable plays throughout the match, with sophomore Carey Williams leading the way with 27 digs.

Before the match began, Portland recognized senior's Lauren Naatz and Reghan Pukis for their contributions to Portland volleyball, with tonight's match being their last as a Pilot. Naatz ends her collegiate career with 563 digs, having a career high 211 digs and 28 service aces this season. Pukis finishes her career 8^th in kills per set (3.15), 13^th all-time in program history in kills (989), and 19^th in points (1041.5).

The Pilots opened the first set strong, coming out to a 5-2 lead that began with one of Katie Barker's 11 kills. Gonzaga (11-18, 8-10) would soon bounce back, going on a 6-3 run to take the lead at 13-11. The Pilots would go on to tie the set five times, but were unable to reclaim the lead as the Bulldogs took the first set at 25-23.

As the second set began, Pukis would grab the lead for the Pilots with a kill to make it 7-6 Portland. The Pilots would continue to lead throughout the set, finishing on an 8-3 run that featured three of junior Shayla Hoeft's 15 kills to take the set at 25-19.

Riding their momentum, the Pilots once again began a set with a kill by Barker, and would hold onto their lead in the third set until an attacking error by Hoeft made the score 15-14 Zags. The teams would exchange points till the end, until Hoeft sent a ball flying off the hardwood to take the set for the Pilots, the score 25-23.

The fourth set gave the fans their money's worth, as the Pilots and Bulldogs exchanged the lead seven times. Williams was crucial to keeping the Pilots within the set, making an amazing dig to set up Guzik for a kill to tie the set at 12-12. The Bulldogs would reclaim the lead, and hold it at 24-22. The Pilots would rally to tie the set at 24-24, and held the lead late at 26-25 from a service ace from sophomore Kellie Hughes. The Bulldogs would rebound, as senior Sarah Penner had back to back kills to take the set for Gonzaga at 30-28.

Gonzaga would ride their comeback in the fourth set into the fifth, as they begun the set on a 5-1 run to force an early Portland timeout. The Pilots would not go quietly, closing in on the Bulldogs at 10-12 thanks to a kill by Barker. Gonzaga would go on to take the set and the match, the final set score 15-11.