GONZAGA BULLDOGS
(6-14, 0-8 WCC)
 
Day: Saturday
Date: Oct. 26, 2019
Place: Portland, Ore. 
Time: 12:00 P.M.
Facility: Chiles Center
Video: portlandpilots.com
Stats: portlandpilots.com
 
POR vs. GONZ
Overall Series: 23-48
H: 13-20 • A: 11-24 • N: 0-0
Last: GON 3, @POR 2 (11/20/2018)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots host the Gonzaga Bulldogs this Saturday, their sole match-up this week.
• Stats and Video for both matches can be found at portlandpilots.com
 
LAST WEEK
 • The Pilots flew to the Bay Area, playing matches against San Francisco & Santa Clara. Both matches went five sets, with Portland winning against the Dons and falling to the Broncos.
• Junior Liz Reich continues to lead the offense, racking up 32 kills & three blocks. Senior Shayla Hoeft had 25 kills & six blocks, and junior Kellie Hughes had back to back double-doubles.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• This is Jeff Baxter's second season as head coach of the Pilots, coming off Portland's first 20-win season and postseason appearance in program history.
• Portland's ability to serve up aces has been huge to their early success: The Pilots rank 10th in the NCAA in aces per set (1.82), placing them first in the WCC.
• Freshman Grace Zilbert has a been the catalyst of the Pilots serving ability, ranking 3rd in the WCC in aces (29). Nineteen matches into her collegiate career, she already has two five-ace matches. 
• Junior Kellie Hughes has made significant strides this season, with Hughes ranking 63rd in the country in assists (747). Within the West Coast Conference, Hughes ranks 1st in assists per set and total assists.
• In the WCC, the Pilots are 1st in team service aces (135) and are 2nd in digs per set (14.73). Individually, junior Carey Williams has led the way defensively, ranking 1st in the conference in digs per set (4.50) and 2nd in total digs (333).
• Three Pilots earned All-Tournament honors at the Springhill Suites Invitational, including MVP Senior Shayla Hoeft (40 kills, four blocks), Hughes (93 assists) and freshman Grace Zilbert (seven aces, 13 digs).
• For their efforts in the Portland North Marriott Invite, Hoeft and Williams were nominated to the All-Tournament Team. Hoeft had 43 kills, while Williams had 59 digs and 12 assists.
• The Pilots returned nine letterwinners from the 2018 season, including 2018 All-WCC Honorable Mention senior Katie Barker.
• The program welcomed three true freshmen to The Bluff this summer, as well two transfers from the University of Boise State and Seton Hall University, respectively.
• Sophomore transfers Jessie Brigham & Claire Forrest bring experience to the squad: Brigham led the BSU Broncos in digs in 2018 with 356, while Forrest notched two matches with 10 kills as a Pirate, including a career-high 11 kills against VCU.
• Portland's freshmen class is made up of Zilbert, Noelani Helm and Jayde Harris, all three contributing in 2019. 
• To replace former assistant coaches Betsy Sedlak and Rick Moller departures from the program, Baxter brought in former University of Nevada assistant coach Megan Burton and former University of Washington player Justice Magraw.
 • The Pilots saw two seniors graduate last spring in Reghan Pukis and Lauren Naatz.
• Portland was picked to finish sixth in the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll, jumping two spots from the 2018 poll.
• Senior middle blocker Katie Barker seeks to improve on her coming out party as a junior: she was nominated to the 2018 All-WCC Honorable Mention squad and had 128 block assists, 143 total blocks and a .334 hitting percentage, which were 1st, 2nd and 5th most in single season history for the Pilots, respectively.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
• Gonzaga (6-14, 0-8 WCC) is seeking their first conference win, and have claimed victories versus Connecticut, Air Force and New Mexico.
• The Bulldogs, much like the Pilots, have seen success from there serving abilities: they rank 27th nationally in aces per set with 1.70 per match, and are led in aces by sophomore Kennedy Croft (28).
• The Zags are led by 2018 All-WCC Honorable Mention junior Sarah Penner, who leads the Zags in kills (181) and is 2nd on the squad in blocks (33).