BOZEMAN, Mont.---Juniors Jayde Harris and Noelani Helm both registered new career highs with 18 kills and 28 assists, respectively, and the Pilots went on to defeat Montana State 3-1 in a volleyball match at the Bobcat Classic held in Shroyer Gymnasium on Friday evening. Portland won the match with set scores of 25-23, 25-20, 20-25, and 25-21 to improve to 3-2 on the season.
 
Standout setter Paloma Bowman recorded a double-double with 18 assists and 15 digs, adding eight kills while executing at a .412 hitting percentage on the night. Sophomore Neveah Bray also provided some clutch scores later down the line, capitalizing six times off of nine attempts to finish with a .444 attack rate.
 
The match began closely contested at the start, with neither team leading by more than two points until kills from Chelsey Harmon and Harris gave Portland (3-2, 0-0 WCC) the game's first sizeable edge at 18-14. The Pilots held on to their margin following a couple of Bobcat errors, although Montana State (2-3, 0-0 Big Sky) climbed back into the set to level the score at 20-20. A kill from Ryann Gregg helped the Pilots regain the lead right shortly after, and back-to-back Harris kills handed the visiting side the first set point opportunity. Harris' hot hand put the finishing touch on the set to give the Pilots a 1-0 advantage heading into the second frame.
 
Portland carried that momentum right into set two, opening on a 4-1 lead with a kill and an ace from Helm. Another small run including a Mumolo service ace kept the Pilots ahead by three, and they would stretch their gap to four on a Harmon score and a block assisted by Helm and sophomore Jiana Lawson at 14-10. Portland managed to control the set from that point on, and Bray supplied a critical kill near the end to give the Pilots a 2-0 edge on the match.
 
Montana State came back to claim set three, and the Pilots would find themselves in a small deficit through the middle of the fourth frame when the Bobcats led at 13-10. MSU pushed their advantage to as many as five shortly following, and forced the Pilots to call timeout.
 
Portland rallied out of the break with four unanswered scores on a Bray attack and another Helm ace—which brought them within one of the Bobcats—and another crucial score from Bray soon evened the set at 21-21. Moments later, Mumolo's third service ace gave the Pilots squad a new energy, sparking a big time block by Bowman and Bray that swung the score back in Portland's favor. Back-to-back Harris kills was all that was needed to seal the win, and the Pilots closed out the match on a 6-0 run to give them a thrilling victory over Montana State.
 
"Such an awesome team win tonight for our Pilot squad!" said head coach Megan Burton. "We responded well from this morning's match and came out focused, executing our game plan from the first point. This was a huge team win that everyone contributed to—our bench stepped up big time with great energy and feedback in timeouts, and everyone was invested into the success of tonight's match."

"I was especially proud to see how we responded in the fourth set, being down at the end of the match," said Burton. "This team is special and they showed so much grit and determination in that pressure moment. Montana State is a great opponent and they have some physical pins that really challenged our defense—something we will see again tomorrow against Arkansas.  But we'll enjoy the win tonight and get ready to compete again tomorrow. Go Pilots!"
 
Portland will continue action at the Bobcat Classic tomorrow morning, facing Arkansas for the first-ever meeting between the two programs. That match is set to begin at 9:00 a.m.