PORTLAND, Ore---The No. 20 Toreros topped the Pilots 3-0 in a West Coast Conference volleyball match held at the Chiles Center on Thursday evening, collecting the game with set scores of 25-18, 25-21, and 25-14.
 
Jayde Harris led Portland with 12 kills on the night, Noelani Helm provided 19 assists, and Alyssa Muraoka came up with 13 digs for the home side.
 
Harris got the Pilots (5-17, 2-11 WCC) on the board first to open the contest, but San Diego (17-4, 11-1 WCC) would jump out to an 8-4 lead soon after. Grace Zilbert added a kill to bring Portland within two, and a block solo from freshman Emma Swett kept the Pilots close at 9-7 USD. That's when the Toreros built a short run to push their advantage in the set, although both a score and an ace from Charity Bradley helped Portland stay in range. Gabby Quach converted an attack late in the frame, and Claire Forrest served up another Pilots ace, but USD eventually prevailed to go ahead 1-0 on the match.
 
Harris scored first again to begin set two, and Zilbert added an ace in the next play on the way to a 3-0 Portland lead to start. Another Harris attack kept the Pilots in front at 5-3, but USD rallied back to tie the score 7-7. A Swett-Helm block followed by a Bradley kill helped the Pilots regain a one-point edge, yet San Diego answered with two 3-0 runs to find themselves ahead again at 15-12. Moments later, back-to-back Harris kills sparked a 4-0 Pilots run which swung the score back in Portland's favor and force the Toreros to call timeout. Harris executed coming out of the break to draw the game at 18s, and a kill off the hand of Helm put the Pilots in front by one at 20-19 late in the set. In the end San Diego was able to close out the frame for a 2-0 lead going into the third installment.
 
Three Harris scores and another from Forrest jumped the Pilots out to a 4-3 lead to begin the third frame, and Quach would set up Forrest again afterward to grant the Pilots a two-point spread at 6-4. But the Toreros managed to create some runs throughout the set, with Grace Frohling sealing the match on her 19th kill to lead all scorers in the game.
 
The Pilots return to play on Saturday, November 6th at noon when they welcome No. 6 BYU to the Chiles Center, where Portland will celebrate senior Claire Forrest as she makes her final appearance for the program.