LARAMIE, WYO – An exhilarating five-set match in Wyoming leads to the Portland Pilots advancing to the third round of the National Invitational Volleyball Challenge, as they took a five-set thriller over the Utah Valley Wolverines on Friday. The Pilots won the match with set scores of 25-19, 16-25, 29-27, 27-29, and 19-17.

Portland's 20^th victory of the 2018 season breaks the previous record for most wins in a single season, the record previously held by the 1986 squad with 19 wins.

Jeff Baxter, leading the Pilots (20-12, 6-12 WCC) to their most wins in a single season in his first year as head coach, was filled with pride with his player's performance. "Our team showed a lot of grit (tonight), I'm just so proud of all of them."

Sophomore Liz Reich had her best performance of the year, having 17 kills and eight total blocks. Junior Cali Thompson led the match in assists with 62, while senior Reghan Pukis match-leading 18 kills meant a little more than usual: she became the 13^th Pilot to reach 1,000 kills in her career, increasing her career total to 1,017.

The Pilots began the match with a slim lead, eventually going on a 3-0 run to increase their first set lead to 10-5, forcing an early Utah Valley (20-14, 9-7 WAC) timeout. The Wolverines immediately went on a 7-2 run to tie the set at 12-12, continuing to remain competitive throughout. Seeking to gain momentum, Reich took control at 21-18: She would go on to have the Pilots last four points of the set (three kills, one block assist), as Portland took the first set at 25-19.

Utah Valley would find their rhythm in the second set, opening up the set on a 9-2 run, and never looked back. The Pilots would make it close, cutting their deficit to 13-17 thanks to a pair of blocks by Reich and junior Shayla Hoeft. The Wolverines would put a squash to the Pilot rally, and took the second set at 25-16.

From the third set forward, both teams gave each other an unforgettable fight.

The third set began with the Pilots taking the early lead at 6-2, which was shortly taken away by the Wolverines. The set had 11 lead changes, with Pukis coming up big: she had six kills throughout the set to keep the Pilots within distance. Down to their last point at 23-24, Izzy Guzik had one of her 15 kills to tie the set at 24-24. The Pilots would slowly battle their way back, with junior Katie Barker putting the cherry on top by having a solo block to take the set for Portland at 29-27.

Not to be outdone, the Wolverines would take the early lead in the fourth set at 9-5, and extend their lead to as high as 17-9. The Pilots wouldn't go quietly, rallying to make their way back into the set, and even taking the lead at 25-24 thanks to a kill by sophomore Kassidy Naone. Two straight kills by the Wolverines Kristen Allred would give Utah Valley back the lead at 26-25, and despite the Pilots tying the set a few more times to extend the set, the Wolverines would force a fifth set in Wyoming, taking the set at 29-27.

Utah Valley would ride their momentum into the fifth set, taking a 6-0 lead and forcing Portland to take both of their timeouts within the six points. The Pilots immediately answered with a 7-1 run, led by four blocks and a kill by Barker to tie the score at 7-7. The Wolverines would retake the lead, pushing it to 12-9, only for the Pilots to once again tie the score at 12-12. Utah Valley would once again reclaim the lead, and forced Portland to their final point at 15-14, only for Pukis to tie it at 15-15. Putting The Bluff on her back, Guzik had three of the Pilots last points to outlast the Wolverine rally's, almost single handedly winning the final set for Portland, the final set score at 19-17.

The win advances the Pilots to the NIVC Quarterfinals, where they'll host UNLV (21-11, 10-8 MWC) on Thursday night at the Chiles Center. The match will begin at 7 p.m.