PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots volleyball team play their only exhibition match of the 2019 season against Seattle University on Tuesday, Aug. 20 at the Chiles Center. The match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start and will be free to the public.
 
The Pilots have high hopes after one of their best seasons in program history, recording 20 wins, a 12-match winning streak and their first postseason appearance, all firsts for the volleyball program.
 
Portland will have nine letterwinners return to the Bluff, including 2018 All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention senior Katie Barker. Barker's 128 block assists in 2018 were the most in Pilot history, and she added 281 kills with a .334 hitting percentage.

Returning starters joining Barker are senior Shayla Hoeft, and juniors Carey Williams and Liz Reich. Hoeft led the team in kills (321) among returning players, while Williams led the WCC in digs with 534 and Reich recorded a 200-kill, 100-block season (219 & 103, respectively).

The Pilots will have five new faces join squad, featuring two transfers and three freshmen. All five players are expected to contribute immediately.
 
Head coach Jeff Baxter enters his second year leading the Pilots, with assistant coach Dylan Hamilton returning for his second season. New additions to the coaching staff include assistant coach Megan Burton and volunteer assistant Justice Magraw. Burton, a former Saint Mary's Gael, joins the Portland staff after being an assistant coach for the University of Nevada. Magraw's NCAA coaching career begins after being a member of the Washington Huskies volleyball squad from 2012-16, where she won the inaugural Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2016.
 
Portland will kick-off their season officially on Aug. 30, in Ogden, Utah against Cal-State Northridge in the Wildcat Invitational.