PROVO, Utah---The No. 9 BYU Cougars held off the Pilots 3-0 in a West Coast Conference volleyball match at Smith Fieldhouse on Thursday evening. BYU claimed the match with set scores of 25-16, 25-15, and 25-10, preserving a 24-set win streak.
 
Jayde Harris and Charity Bradley each pitched in four kills for the Pilots, Noelani Helm dished out 10 assists, and Grace Zilbert added 11 digs.
 
BYU (15-1, 5-0 WCC) jumped out to an 9-2 lead to open the match, extending their lead by more after building a solid run through the middle. Helm converted Portland's (4-10, 1-4 WCC) first attack of the night to set the score at 18-6 BYU, and Emma Swett followed suit with her first kill right after. Bradley executed Portland's third kill of the set, and served up two aces moments later to spark seven unanswered points from the visitors, making it 22-14 Cougs. Harris added the Pilots' last kill of the frame to force BYU into a second set point play, but the ninth-ranked Cougars closed out the set for the 1-0 advantage after the first frame.
 
Bradley got the Pilots on the board first to begin set two, and Harris added another before the score tied at 3-3. The two sides would trade points in the next rallies, and back-to-back Lawson swings kept Portland close, only down by one each time. BYU managed to push ahead by nine in the middle of the set, and would hold on to their cushion through the end for the 2-0 lead overall.
 
Portland stole the first lead of set three at 3-1 with a kill from Swett, and maintained a two-point edge at 4-2 on a Bradley attack soon after. The ninth-ranked Cougars eventually swung the score in their favor, sealing the match in just three sets and combining for a stunning .430 team hitting percentage on the night.

"I'm proud of what the team did fighting tonight," said head coach Megan Burton. "We continue to deal with every adversity thrown our way with resilience and belief. BYU is a great team and the Smith Fieldhouse is a tough environment to play in."

"I thought we served well and found our rhythm in serve receive at the end of set one," said Burton. "This team is fearless and we showed that tonight by taking care of our side of the net and fighting hard for every point. We definitely need to clean up our attacking and will look to do so against USD. This team showed great fight tonight and we're looking to learn from this experience and bounce back at San Diego."

The Pilots will have a day off before gearing up for another ranked matchup with the No. 25 San Diego Toreros on Saturday, October 9th. That game is set to begin at 12 p.m.