PORTLAND PILOTS (11-13, 3-10 WCC)
WEEK 12: vs SANTA CLARA & SAN FRANCISCO
 
SANTA CLARA BRONCOS
(16-10, 6-7 WCC)
 
Day: Thursday
Date: Nov. 14, 2019
Place: Portland, Ore. 
Time: 7:00 P.M.
Facility: Chiles Center
Video: portlandpilots.com
Stats: portlandpilots.com
 
POR vs. SC
Overall Series: 12-55
H: 6-26 • A: 6-28 • N: 0-1
Last: @SC 3, POR 2 (10.19.19)
 
SAN FRANCISCO DONS
(6-18, 2-11 WCC)
 
Day: Saturday
Date: Nov. 16, 2019
Place: Portland, Ore. 
Time: 12:00 P.M.
Facility: Chiles Center
Video: portlandpilots.com
Stats: portlandpilots.com
 
POR vs. USF
Overall Series: 31-37
H: 17-12 • A: 15-25 • N: 0-01
Last: POR 3, @USF 2 (10.17.19)

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots host their last two home matches of the 2019 season, against Santa Clara & San Francisco.
• Portland will play the Broncos at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14th.
• Saturday's regular season finale against the Dons will tip off at noon, and will feature the programs Senior Night, celebrating three Pilot senior's contributions to program.
• Stats and Video for both matches can be found at portlandpilots.com
 
LAST WEEK
 • The Pilots navigated to California for a pair of matches against Saint Mary's and Pacific.
 • Portland fell to the Gaels in three competitive sets, and lost a four-set match against the Tigers.
• Junior Liz Reich eclipsed the 300-kill mark for the first time collegiately, racking up 20 kills during this past week. Senior's Katie Barker & Shayla Hoeft teamed up for a combined 14 blocks, while junior Carey Williams grabbed 47 digs.
 
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 made a tremendous impact: their aces per set (1.81) ranks 11th in the country, while their total service aces (165) puts them 27th in the NCAA. Both statistics rank first in the West Coast Conference.
• The Pilots ability to strike from behind the line has been a combined effort, with five different players obtaining 20-plus service aces.
• Junior Kellie Hughes has made significant strides this season, ranking 1st within the WCC in assists (904) & aces per set (9.93).
• In the WCC, the Pilots are 1st in team service aces, aces per set and are 2nd in digs per set (15.31). Individually, junior Carey Williams has led the way defensively, ranking 1st in the conference in digs per set (4.79) and 2nd in total digs (436).
• 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 already 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
• Santa Clara (16-10, WCC 6-7) has surprised everyone in the WCC in 2019, going from 9th in the WCC Preseason Poll to currently 5th.
• The Broncos success has come from dominating the net, ranking 13th in team total blocks (258.5) in the country, with senior Taylor Odom placing 2nd in the nation in total blocks (152).
• San Francisco (6-18, WCC 2-11) is coming off two losses to BYU & USD, the cream of the crop of the WCC. However, before last week they were coming off a sweep of Santa Clara.
• The Dons have an aggressive attack, placing 1st in conference in team attacks per set (36.8). Their offense is led by senior Kathya Garcia, who's notched 295 kills on the season, including three 20-kill performances.