PORTLAND, Ore.---The Portland Pilots kept it close all three sets against No. 16 BYU, but in the end the Cougars left the Chiles Center with a 3-0 win in a West Coast Conference volleyball match on Wednesday afternoon. BYU claimed the match with set scores of 25-23, 26-24, and 25-22.
 
Pilots freshman Mia Wesley finished the day with a match-high 17 kills, sophomore Jayde Harris added 10, and senior Carey Williams led Portland's (0-2, 0-2 WCC) defense with 23 digs.
 
It was an even match to begin the first set with both sides trading points, until the Cougars managed to gain a 10-8 lead. Moments later, two kills from outside hitter Jiana Lawson closed the gap so that Portland was within a point. The Pilots stayed within reach from there with the help of kills from Wesley and freshman Nevaeh Bray, with Bray's attack making the score 19-20. Portland then leveled the set at 21-21 when Lawson and freshman Chelsey Harmon combined for a block, but BYU would prevail 25-23 to go up 1-0 in the match.
 
The second set resembled the first as neither team was able to gain an advantage. There were six ties early until BYU built a four-point lead at 14-10. The Pilots then put together a 7-0 run, including two kills from Wesley and one from Bray to jump ahead 17-14. Portland kept the lead with a few more scores from Wesley, although BYU eventually found their way back in the match only down by one at 20-21. The Pilots would then earn the first set point opportunity after a crucial kill from Lawson made it 24-22. BYU recovered to score the next two points and even the score, and they'd end it on a 4-0 run to take the set.
 
The Pilots surged ahead early in the third and led 6-3 after back-to-back kills from Wesley. The Pilots then led by as many as five, and they'd stay ahead with attacks from Harris, Lawson and Wesley. The Cougars responded to pull even with the Pilots, and they'd eventually pull ahead 20-17. Senior Liz Reich provided two scores to bring the Pilots back within one, and the Pilots re-claimed the lead late after a Harris attack made it 22-21. But just like they did during the previous set, BYU would close with four-point scoring run to seal the win.

"We competed much better today and took care of our side of the net," said head coach Megan Burton. "Our first contacts today allowed our setters to run an in system offense. Carey did a great job controlling the back court and making some great defensive plays against a physical BYU team. We've still got work to do to be able to execute consistently especially when we're in the red zone."

"We got to 20 points and make some costly errors late in the game," said Burton. "But we showed heart and played more like our ourselves today. This match hurts because we had opportunities to win against a good team, but we will get back to work and continue to get better in practice before our next match."

Portland was originally next scheduled to play at last year's conference champion San Diego, but those two matched were postponed. The Pilots will resume play on Feb. 6 and 7 when then embark on their first road trip of the season to LMU.