PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots lost in four sets at the Chiles Center on Saturday afternoon, losing a hard-fought match against the Saint Mary's Gaels. The Pilots fell in four sets, with set scores of 19-25, 25-23, 19-25 and 17-25.

Junior Liz Reich led the match kills with 19, with senior Shayla Hoeft grabbing 17 kills and three total blocks. Junior Kellie Hughes led the match in assists with 43 assists, along with 14 digs.

Saint Mary's (6-10, 2-3 WCC) came out of the gates with a 14-5 run to claim the lead in the first set over Portland (9-8, 1-4 WCC). The Gaels would extend their lead as far as 21-8. Refusing to go out without a fight, the Pilots went on a 9-1 run that had three kills from Reich. Saint Marys would hold onto their lead, taking the first set at 25-19.

The second set begun in a back and forth fashion, with the Pilots taking the lead at 6-5 but struggled to separate themselves. The Gaels would keep it close throughout the set, and eventually took a slim lead late at 23-22. Portland responded with a 3-0 run, led by two straight blocks from Hoeft to take the second set at 25-23.

With the match tied at 1-1 in set scores, Saint Mary's grabbed the lead with a 6-2 run to open the third set. The Pilots would close the gap to 8-7, but the Gaels would respond with a 5-0 run to go up 12-7.  A late kill from Reich would cut Portland's deficit to 19-23, but Saint Mary's would close out the fourth set, taking it at 25-19.  

Saint Mary's begun the fourth set with another good start, going on a 7-3 run to claim the lead. Portland kept it close the remainder of the way, getting as close as 16-14 SMC thanks to one of sophomore Claire Forrest's 10 kills. The Gaels would take the fourth and final set score at 25-17.

Portland returns to the road next week, traveling to San Francisco and Santa Clara in the Pilots first road trip to the Bay Area.