MALIBU, Calif.---The Pilots put some pressure on 23rd-ranked Pepperdine in set two, yet the Waves would hold them off to collect a 3-0 win in a West Coast Conference volleyball match at Firestone Fieldhouse on Tuesday evening. Pepperdine claimed the match with set scores of 25-13, 25-23, and 25-16 to remain undefeated in league play.
 
Jayde Harris finished the game with eight kills, four digs, and three aces, and Noelani Helm added eight kills, four digs, and 12 assists for the visitors. Paloma Bowman chipped in 11 assists, and Grace Zilbert picked up five digs for the Portland defense.
 
Bowman served up an ace to get the Pilots (4-7, 1-1 WCC) on the board first to open play, but the Waves (11-1, 3-0 WCC) rallied back with four points to gain their first edge at 4-1. A solid run through the middle of the set allowed Pepperdine to stay in front until the end, fueled by seven scores from outside hitter Rachel Ahrens, who currently ranks 10th in the NCAA in kills per set.
 
Portland jumped ahead to being the second set, using kills from Harris and Nevaeh Bray and an ace served up by Helm to push the Pilots in front at 5-1. Pepperdine managed to level the score at 5s, but Harris answered by sending both an attack and an ace to keep the team in purple ahead by two. Pepperdine regained a lead at 11-7, but Portland stayed in the set after a score from freshman Emma Swett and a Zilbert service ace—only finding themselves down by one at 11-12 following more kills from Swett and Jiana Lawson. The No. 23 Waves built a three-point edge soon after, but the Pilots continued to stick around, producing a scoring run including two Lawson kills and another from Helm that brought them within one at 22-23. Ahrens connected after that to hand the Waves the first chance at set point, forcing the Pilots to call timeout. Lawson looked to keep Portland in it after executing a score coming out of the break, although Pepperdine eventually prevailed for the 2-0 advantage on the match.
 
Pepperdine was able to overcome the Pilots again in set three, using an early lead to carry them through the end.

"Tonight we struggled with our serve and pass game," said head coach Megan Burton. "Pepperdine has several offensive weapons and we needed to put more pressure on them in serve receive to be out of system."

"We had moments tonight of playing Portland volleyball but we are still working on consistency in our overall play," said Burton. "When we pass well we are able to run a highly effective offense that is tough to defend. We know what we need to fix and will have another opportunity this week at home against Pacific and Saint Mary's. Looking forward to packing the Chiles Center with a home crowd this week. Go Pilots!"

Portland returns home for two more contests at the Chiles Center later this week, seeing Pacific on Thursday at 6 p.m. before a Saint Mary's showdown on Saturday at noon.