SAN DIEGO TOREROS
(4-7, 1-1 WCC)
 
Day: Thursday
Date: Sep. 27, 2018
Place: San Diego, Calif
Time: 7:00 PM
Facility: Jenny Craig Pavilion
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. USD
Overall Series: 9-53
H: 6-25 •  A: 3-28  •  N: 0-0
Last: SDU 3, @POR 0 (11.09.17)
 
No. 1 BYU COUGARS
(12-0, 2-0 WCC)
 
Day: Saturday
Date: Sep. 29, 2018
Place: Provo, Utah
Time: 12:00 PM (Pacific)
Facility: Smith Fieldhouse
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. BYU
Overall Series: 1-13
H: 1-6 •  A: 0-7  •  N: 0-0
Last: BYU 3, @POR 0 (11.11.17)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots head back on the road, taking on the San Diego Toreros, and the No. 1 team in the country, BYU.
• Portland will first play San Diego on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., and finish their weekend against BYU at 12:00 p.m. (Pacific) on Saturday.
• Live stats and video for this weekend's matchups can be found at PortlandPilots.com
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots lost their first two matches of the year as they were defeated by Pepperdine and LMU at the Chiles Center.
• The Waves topped the Pilots in three sets on Thursday, while Portland came back from being down 2-0 in sets to force a fifth set against the Lions, who ultimately won the final set on Saturday.
• Sophomore Izzy Guzik was instrumental in the Pilots comeback effort against LMU, having 20 kills, eight digs and three blocks. She had 28 kills over the weekend, along with 16 digs and five blocks.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• First-year head coach Jeff Baxter has led the Pilots to their best start in program history, going a perfect 12-0.
• The 12-match winning streak is the longest in program history.
• Thanks to their 9-0 start, the Pilots received four votes in the NCAA AVCA Coaches' Poll during week four, marking the first time in program history that the UP volleyball team has received votes.
• The following week, VolleyMob placed the Pilots at No. 27 in the country, while Portland currently sits at No. 11 in VolleyballMag.com's Mid-Major Poll.
• Nationally, the Pilots rank 14th in hitting percentage (.281) and are 16th in winning percentage (.857).
• Within the WCC, the Pilots are No. 1 in team digs (759) and team total blocks (111.5).
• Junior Cali Thompson has had an impressive start to the season, ranking No. 21 in the country in assists per set (11.17) and is No. 21 in total assists (592).
• Thompson now ranks fifth all-time in UP program history with 2,855 career assists.
• Senior Reghan Pukis is No. 8 all-time at Portland in career kills per set (3.27).
• Junior middle blocker Shayla Hoeft was named the initial WCC Player of the Week of 2018, after she helped lead the Pilots to an undefeated opening weekend and the 2018 Aztec Invitational title.
• Hoeft was named the tournament's MVP after the Pilots clinched all three matches. She led the Pilots in kills (38), kills per set (3.8), hitting percentage amongst starters (.457) and tied for the team lead in blocks (10).
• Head Coach Jeff Baxter is not the only coach on the staff with an impressive resume: assistant coach Betsy Sedlak was recently chosen as a UC Davis CAA Hall of Fame inductee, thanks to her role as middle blocker for her alma-mater. She amassed 393 total blocks, good for second all-time, and led the Aggies to their only 20-win seasons of the Division I era.   
• The Pilots returned three of the top four leaders in kills from a year ago, led by senior Reghan Pukis who totaled 367 kills as a junior.
• Cali Thompson registered 1,174 assist last year, which ranks No. 5 on Portland's all-time single-season list.
• Baxter, who was an assistant under former head coach Brent Crouch for the past two seasons, took over the program during the off-season after Crouch was hired as at USC.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
• The Pilots begin their weekend playing San Diego, who are 4-7 (1-1 WCC) on the year.
• In the AVCA Preseason Poll, San Diego was ranked No. 14, and were ranked No. 24 as of last week.
• They were selected to place second in the WCC, behind only BYU in the conference standings according to the WCC Preseason Poll.
• The Toreros are led by senior Lauren Fuller, who leads the team in kills (126), kills per set (3.07) and points (143.5).
• The Pilots close week six in Provo, taking on the No. 1 team in the country in BYU.
• BYU has lost only five sets all year, and have beaten No. 2 Stanford, No. 13 USC, No. 20 Marquette and No. 25 Utah.
• Nationally, BYU is No. 1 in hitting percentage (.334), assists per set (13.68), and No. 24 in blocks per set (2.68).
• The Cougars are led by seniors Roni Jones-Perry and Lyndie Haddock-Eppich. Both have won WCC Player of the Week awards this season, and Jones-Perry was the AVCA Player of the Week for her contributions in defeating then No. 1 Stanford.
• Across the country, Jones-Perry is No. 8 in points per set (5.41) and No. 11 in kills per set (4.63). Haddock-Eppich meanwhile is No. 19 in assists per set (11.23).