Los Angeles, Calif.---The Portland Pilots volleyball team (0-4, 0-4 WCC) came back to win the third set, but LMU's offense prevailed over the Pilots 3-1 in the second match held at Gersten Pavilion on Tuesday night. LMU claimed the match with set scores of 25-13, 25-19, 23-25, and 25-17.
 
Freshman Mia Wesley led the Pilots with a team-high 18 kills and added 11 digs, while sophomore Jayde Harris contributed 11 kills of her own. Sophomore Noelani Helm dished out 17 assists, and senior Carey Williams finished the night with 23 digs.
 
The Lions (3-3, 3-3 WCC) jumped out to an early three point lead to begin the first set, but a kill from Wesley and an LMU attack error would keep the Pilots within one. A 4-0 Lions scoring run would create a slim margin at 8-4, before both sides traded several scores. The Lions extended their lead to as many as nine, when kills from Harris and Jiana Lawson attempted to spark the Pilots offense, but in the end LMU would close out the set.
 
LMU managed to gain another slight edge over the Pilots to begin set two, but the game would remain within range after kills from Harris and Lawson, so that the Pilots could level it at 11-11 shortly after another Wesley attack. The Lions would create a four point margin on the Pilots, before four service errors in a row would put the score at 18-14. Back-to-back scores from LMU would prompt a Portland timeout, and the Pilots would gain two back coming out of the break, but the Lions would hold on to go up 2-0 on the match.
 
The third set began much the same as the Lions jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but a Lawson kill and a Harris block would keep the Pilots close. That's when senior Liz Reich came up with a kill and a block with freshman Chelsey Harmon to bring Portland within one at 6-5. Two Wesley attacks would help the Pilots remain within reach, and the score would even at eight before LMU built a four point gap at 14-10. Harris and Reich battled back with kills that forced a Lions timeout, and the Pilots comeback began moments later after a four-point scoring spree from Wesley tied it again at 17-17. Portland's first lead in the set came near the end at 20-19, and Harris would produce two clutch kills before Wesley finished it off down the line to win set three.
 
The fourth set began closely contested with kills from Reich and Wesley keeping the Pilots only down by one at 5-4. Portland would stick around after two scores from Claire Forrest and another from Lawson, eventually getting within two when Harris produced a kill to make it 12-10. The Lions found their largest lead in the set shortly after, going ahead 16-11 before Wesley added three more kills to help get the Pilots within two. LMU then scored four unanswered points forcing Portland to call timeout, and the Lions rallied out of the break to win the match.
 
"We played better tonight," said head coach Megan Burton. "Our outsides had a good night offensively, and both Mia and Jayde were very productive for us scoring points on the pin attack. Carey had a solid night defensively, and our back row dug a lot of balls and created opportunities for us to score in transition."
 
"We're still working on finding consistency in our game," said Burton. "But for the third set we were able to execute when it came down to the wire and finish, something we've been working on in practice. We know what we need to do to get better and that's important as we head into our USD series. We'll get some rest tonight, and prepare to come out tomorrow and take care of our side of the net against the Toreros."
 
The Pilots will continue on the road to face the #20 San Diego Toreros tomorrow and Thursday, with both matches starting at 4:00pm.