PORTLAND, Ore---The Portland Pilots began the West Coast Conference volleyball season at home against 16th-ranked BYU on Tuesday, and it was the Cougars who prevailed in the opener by scores of 25-9, 25-22, and 25-17 at the Chiles Center.
 
After the Cougars (1-0) took the first set, the Pilots (0-1) rallied in the second to lead most of the way. BYU surged ahead to begin the set, but Portland gained some momentum after back-to-back kills from sophomore Jayde Harris tied it at 7-7. Points were exchanged on both sides until sophomore Noelani Helm assisted a kill by freshman Jiana Lawson to put the Pilots up 11-10.
 
That lead extended to as many as four as an ace from freshman Mia Wesley made the score 16-12. Portland still led 20-17 when Harris claimed another kill, but BYU made their way back to even it at 22-22. The Cougars then put together three unanswered points to end the set.
 
The third set was also closely contested as the score was level seven different times. Wesley had a pair of kills early and produced three straight service aces before Liz Reich registered a kill to give the Pilots a 7-5 lead. Portland was still on top 11-10-after a kill by Lawson, but the Cougars responded with seven straight points to jump in front. Reich and Nevaeh Bray tried to rally the Pilots with a few kills late, but the Cougars held on to seal the win.
 
"It was a tough match today for our side of the net," said head coach Megan Burton. "We settled down in set two and started playing Portland volleyball, but we need to take care of first contacts and minimize attack errors. When we started to do those things in sets two and three we found our rhythm. Tomorrow we'll come out and start that way and control our side of the net more consistently. Looking forward to having another opportunity to play Portland volleyball tomorrow."
 
Harris led the Pilots in kills with nine, Wesley added eight, and senior Carey Williams had 14 digs. Setters Helm and senior Kellie Hughes provided the assists, with 14 and 11, respectively.
 
A rematch of today's game will occur tomorrow at the Chiles Center, which is set to start at 12:00 p.m.