PORTLAND, Ore.---No. 24 Pepperdine escaped with a win against the Pilots in a second West Coast Conference volleyball match held at the Chiles Center on Saturday afternoon. The Waves claimed the match with set scores of 25-18, 25-14, and 25-19.
 
Mia Wesley led the Pilots with six kills on the day, Kellie Hughes provided 13 assists, and Carey Williams finished with 14 digs. Grace Zilbert added two service aces and 11 digs for the home side.
 
The Pilots (2-12, 2-12 WCC) jumped out to an early 5-1 lead against the 24th-ranked Waves (11-2, 11-1 WCC) to open the match, but a 9-1 Pepperdine run shortly turned into a five-point swing for the visitors from Malibu. The Pilots were able to close the gap down to just two coming out of a timeout, and kills from Jayde Harris and Nevaeh Bray brought Portland back even at 13-13. Both sides traded points for two more ties, but another Pepperdine run would hand them a four-point advantage they used to close out the set.
 
The Pilots got off to another hot start to begin the second frame, with Zilbert producing back-to-back aces for a 3-0 Portland lead. Pepperdine found themselves out front for the first time at 5-4, but the Pilots kept it close with scores from Wesley and Reich. A Harris solo block brought the Pilots within one, until moments later the Waves managed to build a sizable gap that was too much to overcome and eventually helped them secure the second set win.
 
The Waves seemed to control most of the third frame, but a 5-0 Portland scoring spree near the end provided some momentum for the team in purple, and Pilots defended three set point chances before the Waves sealed the match.

"Pepperdine out played us today," said head coach Megan Burton. "They served well and put pressure on our serve receive. We have to pass well in order to have an effective offensive against a big team like Pepp. It wasn't our day. We'll get back to work next week in practice and get better in those areas."

The Pilots will remain at home for two more weeks of WCC play to close out the 2021 season, check back at PortlandPilots.com for more volleyball schedule news and updates.