SAN DIEGO TOREROS
(7-4, 0-0 WCC)
 
Day: Thursday
Date: Sept. 26, 2019
Place: Portland, Ore. 
Time: 7:00 P.M.
Facility: Chiles Center
Video: portlandpilots.com
Stats: portlandpilots.com
 
POR vs. USD
Overall Series: 9-55
H: 6-26 • A: 3-23 • N: 0-0
Last: SDU 3, @POR 2 (10.27.18)
 
No. 9 BYU COUGARS
(9-2, 0-0 WCC)
 
Day: Saturday
Date: Sept. 28, 2019
Place: Portland, Ore. 
Time: 12:00 P.M.
Facility: Chiles Center
Video: portlandpilots.com
Stats: portlandpilots.com
 
POR vs. BYU
Overall Series: 1-15
H: 1-7 • A: 0-8 • N: 0-0
Last: BYU 3, @POR 0 (10.29.18)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots open West Coast Conference play this week, hosting San Diego and No. 8 BYU at the Chiles Center.
• Portland will first play the Toreros on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., and then finish week five against No. 5 BYU on Saturday at noon.
• Live stats and video for this weekend's matches can be found at portlandpilots.com.
 
LAST WEEK
 • The Pilots split a pair of matches against Portland State, with each squad earning a win on their opponent's home court.
• Portland won the first match 3-1, and then fell to the Vikings 1-3 in their weekend match up. 
• Junior Liz Reich led the Pilots in kills with 33, while senior Katie Barker had 30 kills & three blocks. Junior Carey Williams recorded 43 digs, and junior Kellie Hughes had 104 assists and 17 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 been huge to their early success: The Pilots rank 3rd in the NCAA in aces per set (2.26), placing them second in the WCC.
• Freshman Grace Zilbert has a been the catalyst of the Pilots serving ability, ranking 28th in the country in aces per set (0.53). Nine matches into her collegiate career, she already has two five-ace matches. 
• Junior Kellie Hughes has made significant strides this season, with Hughes ranking 30th in the country in assists per set (10.81). Within the West Coast Conference, Hughes ranks 1st in assists per set and total assists (454).
• In the WCC, the Pilots are 1st in digs per set (15.36) and team service aces (95). Individually, junior Carey Williams has led the way defensively, ranking 1st in the conference in digs per set (4.88) and total digs (205).
• 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, with all three already contributing this season. 
• 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 for the Pilots, respectively.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
• San Diego, coming in this week just outside the Top 25 in the AVCA Coaches' Poll (No. 29th), are 7-4 so far in 2019. They're fresh off a 3-0 weekend, including a five-set thriller over No. 25 USC.
• The Toreros are ninth in the country in hitting percentage (.296), with their efficient attack led by senior Megan Jacobsen (100 kills, .401 hitting %) and freshman Grace Frohling (84 kills, .298 hitting %).
• No. 9 BYU have had quite an eventful preseason, losing to No. 10 Marquette in their third match of the year, and are now coming off road wins against No. 18 Utah and No. 1 Stanford. 
• The Cougars are led by seniors McKenna Miller (155 kills, 42 digs) and Mary Lake (143 digs, 45 assists).