OGDEN, UTAH. – The Portland Pilots volleyball team fell to UNLV in five sets, recording their first loss of the season in the Wildcat Invitational at Swenson Gym. The Rebels won with set scores of 19-25, 19-25, 27-25, 25-18 and 15-12.  

After the Wildcat Invitational had concluded, junior Liz Reich (50 kills, seven total blocks) and senior Katie Barker (36 kills, 10 total blocks) were nominated to the All-Tournament Team. 

Five Pilots (2-1) recorded at least 10 kills in the match, led by Reich who had a match-high 21 kills. Junior Kellie Hughes had a career-high 55 assists, and added six digs and three service aces.

Portland would come out in front early in the first set, gaining a 12-6 lead thanks to three early kills from Reich. The Rebels would make a small rally, but Hughes' second service ace of the afternoon would put an end to the first set, the Pilots winning it 25-19.

The Pilots would once again come out to a hot start, starting the second set with a 4-0 lead that would jump to an 11-5 lead thanks to Reich's ninth kill of the match. UNLV (2-1) would close the gap to 17-16, but their efforts weren't enough to take the set as Portland would go on to take it, the set score 25-19 Pilots.

The third set was tightly contested, with the Rebels attempting to stay in the match. With UNLV up 22-20, the Pilots would go on to take a late lead at 25-24 thanks to a kill from Barker. The Rebels would bounce back, taking the set 27-25.

UNLV would ride their momentum into the fourth, maintaining a lead over Portland throughout the set. The Pilots would cut their deficit to one point, as freshman Grace Zilbert would hit back to back service aces to make the score 15-16. They were unable to overcome the deficit however, with the Rebels taking the fourth set, the score 25-18.

Going into the fifth and final set, both teams refused to allow the other to jump ahead. The Pilots would take a late lead, going up 11-9 thanks to a pair of blocks from Hughes and Barker. The Rebels would take a timeout, and go on a 6-1 run to take the final set, the score 15-12 UNLV.

The Pilots will return to action next week, hosting the North Portland Marriott Invite from Sept. 6^th-7^th. The Invite will feature Washington State, Idaho and Utah State.