GRAMBLING STATE TIGERS
(1-3, 0-0 SAC)
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Day: Friday
Date: Sept. 13, 2019
Place: Las Cruces, N.M.
Time: 9:00 A.M.
Facility: Pan American Center
Video: nmstatesports.com
Stats: nmstatesports.com
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POR vs. GSU
Overall Series: 0-0
H: 0-0 •Â
A: 0-0 •Â
N: 0-0
Last: NA
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NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES
(6-0, 0-0 WAC)
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Day: Friday
Date: Sept. 13, 2019
Place: Las Cruces, N.M.Â
Time: 5:00 P.M.
Facility: Pan American Center
Video: nmstatesports.com
Stats: nmstatesports.com
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POR vs. NMSU
Overall Series: 1-0
H: 1-0 •Â
A: 0-0 •
 N: 0-0
Last: @POR 3, NMSU 2 (1993)
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LAMAR CARDINALS
(4-2, 0-0 SLC)
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Day: Saturday
Date: Sept. 14, 2019
Place: Las Cruces, NM.
Time: 9:00 A.M.
Facility: Pan American Center
Video: nmstatesports.com
Stats: nmstatesports.com
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POR vs. LAM
Overall Series: 0-0
H: 0-0 •Â
A: 0-0 •Â
N: 0-0
Last: NA
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THIS WEEK
• The Pilots navigate south to Las Cruces, N.M., to participate in the Springhill Suites Invitational, along with New Mexico State, Grambling State and Lamar.
• Portland will first play a doubleheader on Friday, facing Grambling State at 9:00 AM (Pacific) and capping the day with New Mexico State at 5:00 PM. They'll wrap-up their last tourney of the season against Lamar at 9:00 AM on Saturday.
• Live stats and video for the Springhill Suites Invitational can be found on nmstatesports.com.
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LAST WEEK
 • The Pilots opened home play on the Bluff, going 2-1 in the Portland North Marriott Invite.
• Portland swept Idaho to begin the weekend, and rallied to beat Utah State in five sets. In between the two victories was a loss to Washington State.
• Senior Shayla Hoeft (43 kills & eight total blocks) and junior Carey Williams (59 digs & 12 assists) earned All-Tournament Honors for their performances.
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 11th in the NCAA in team service aces as a squad, putting them first in the WCC.
• Juniors Carey Williams and Kellie Hughes have made significant strides this season, with Hughes ranking 12th in the country in total assists (257) and Williams ranked 32nd in total digs (116). Their performances have them ranked first in the WCC in both statistics as well.
• The Pilots returned nine letterwinners from the 2018 season, including 2018 All-WCC Honorable Mention senior Katie Barker.
• The program welcomed three true freshman 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 freshman class is made up of Grace Zilbert, Noelani Helm and Jayde Harris, with all three contributing already this season.Â
• 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 previous 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, respectively.
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SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
• Grambling State, 1-3 on the young season, is coming off an 11-24 record in 2018. Junior Linzy Woods leads the Tiger attack with 21 kills, and leads the team in total blocks with 11.
• New Mexico State is undefeated in 2019, going 6-0 and featuring wins over Auburn and fellow WCC member Pacific. They're predicted to finish first in the WAC, coming off a 24-8 record in 2018 and an NCAA Tourney appearance. Sophomore Savannah Davidson leads the Aggies in kills with 63, while senior Megan Hart's .500 hitting percentage is 14th in the country and first in the WAC.
• Lamar have had a strong rebound from 2018, where they went 7-20. They're 4-2 start has been led by freshman Annika Slovak, who is 8th in the NCAA in assists per set (11.92) and 17th in aces per set (0.67).
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