PORTLAND, Ore. --- The No.6 seeded Portland Pilots beach volleyball team will head to Santa Monica this weekend to compete in the West Coast Conference Beach Volleyball Championships. The Pilots are slated to take on No.3 seed and nationally ranked No.19 Saint Mary's on Friday, April 19 at 9:00 AM at Ocean Beach.

"We are excited to compete in one of the greatest beach volleyball locations in the world with yet another opportunity to test our preparation against some of the best competition in the NCAA", said head coach Dylan Hamilton.

Portland enters the weekend with a 2-7 (WCC 2-2) record, featuring two victories against WCC rival Pacific. Junior Katie Barker and Sophomore Carey Williams were vital in each match, as they two of their four pair duels of the season.
 
The Gaels are 17-6 (WCC 9-2) on the season and have faced tough competition all year, competing in nine matches where their opponent was ranked. They went 3-6 in those matches, with all three wins coming against the Stanford University.
 
If Portland claims their match against Saint Mary's, the Pilots will then play again at noon against the winners of match 3 (No. 14 LMU vs Pacific). If the Pilots don't advance, Portland will then play on Friday afternoon in match 6 against the non-advancing winner of the No. 14 LMU vs Pacific match at 1:30 PM.