PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots battled back from a two-set deficit to force a fifth and deciding set, but the Loyola Marymount Lions pulled out the victory in West Coast Conference volleyball action on Saturday afternoon at the Chiles Center. The Lions won with scores of 25-22, 25-16, 22-25, 22-25, and 15-13.
 
The Pilots fall to 12-2 on the season and 0-2 in the WCC, while the Lions improve to 11-2 overall and 1-1 in league play. 

Portland carried the momentum of back-to-back wins in the third and fourth sets to a strong start in the fifth. The Pilots grabbed a 4-1 lead thanks to a kill and a pair of blocks by Shayla Hoeft. After two straight kills by Reghan Pukis, the Pilots had an 8-4 lead at the changeover, but LMU responded with a 6-1 run and forced Portland to use both of its timeouts. The match went down to the wire, but the Lions were able to get the sideout and seal the victory on a kill by Savannah Slattery. 

Sophomore Izzy Guzik led the Pilots in kills with 20, hit .405 overall, and added eight digs. Junior setter Cali Thompson finished with 40 assists and six digs, while Hoeft chipped in 13 kills and three blocks.

Portland opened the first set with a 6-2 lead thanks to three kills by Guzik. LMU would make their way back into the set, tied the match at 15-15, and at one point led 20-16 and would hold on by a 25-22 margin to gain the early edge.

The Pilots again led early in the second set courtesy of two more Guzik kills, leading 6-3 early on. Both teams would go back and forth, with the Pilots leading 9-8. The Lions used a 10-1 run from that point to gain control. Sophomore Carey Williams had a stellar pancake dig to set up a Pilot point during the run, but the Lions raced to the 25-16 win.

The Pilots would begin the third set hungry for a comeback, leading early at 7-3. Guzik would continue to find ways to keep the Pilots in the lead, grabbing five kills throughout the set. Not to be outdone, junior Katie Barker had two kills in the last three points of the set to take the third set, 25-22.

The fourth set was back and forth from the tip, featuring both teams exchanging the lead. The Pilots would retake the lead at 10-9 thanks to a Pukis kill, as the Pilots would go on a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 14-9 and forcing LMU to take a timeout. Immediately after the timeout, LMU would go on a 4-0 run. The Pilots answered with a 3-0 run of their own, featuring a Barker pancake that led to Guzik's 19th kill. Hoeft would put an end to the fourth set with two straight kills for the 25-22 margin.

Bo Culo paced the Lions with a match-high 25 kills and 10 digs, while setter Tess Reid added 59 assists and 11 digs.

Next up for the Pilots, the team will fly south to play No. 24 San Diego (4-7, 1-1 WCC) on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. and then visit No. 1 BYU (12-0, 2-0) on Saturday, Sept. 29 at noon (PT).