PORTLAND PILOTS (9-12, 2-8 WCC)
Week 10 - No. 3 San Diego Toreros  and No. 17 BYU Cougars

No. 3 San Diego Toreros
(18-1, 9-0 WCC)

Day: Thursday                 
Date: Oct. 27, 2022
Place: San Diego, Calif.          
Time: 7:00 P.M.
Facility: Chiles Center            
Video: WCCSports.com
Stats: portlandpilots.com

POR vs. USD                  
Overall Series: 9-62   
Last: L @POR 0 USD 3 (2022)

No. 17 BYU Cougars
(14-5, 7-2 WCC)

Day: Saturday                  
Date: Oct. 29, 2022
Place: Provo, Utah         
Time: 12:00 P.M.
Facility: Chiles Center         
Video: WCCSports.com
Stats: portlandpilots.com                       

POR vs. BYU        
Overall Series: 1-22    
Last: L @POR 0 vs. BYU 3 (2022)

THIS WEEK 
• The Pilots continue WCC play this week on the road against the No. 3 San Diego Toreros and No. 17 BYU Cougars. 
• The first match against No. 3 San Diego will take place on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m., while the second match against No. 17 BYU will take place on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Megan Burton enters her third year as the head coach of the Pilots volleyball program, with assistant coaches Dylan Hamilton also returning for the 2022 season. Additionally, the Pilots welcome Kyle Homeyer as a new assistant coach for the 2022 season after serving as a volunteer coach in 2021. 
• The Pilots also bring back six letter winners from the fall 2021 season.
• The program welcomes seven true freshmen to The Bluff this fall in Maui Robins, Elin Larsson, Jordan Bardouche, Marleena Catalan, Lucia Busso, Larkin Chock, and Una Rajkovic.  
• Portland has also added three transfer students to their roster, including setter Talyn Jackson out of Virginia Tech, middle blocker Griselda Memia from American University and outside hitter Lia Hawken from Dayton University.
• Portland will be looking for leadership from returner Jayde Harris, as well as their transfers to create an exciting and dynamic offense this season. Harris led the team with 261 kills in 2021, which earned her all-WCC honors.
• This week, Jayde Harris surpassed her kill total from last season (262) with a new career-high 279.
• The Pilots fell in two matches against No. 22 Pepperdine (three sets) and Loyola Marymount (five sets). 
• The Pilots played two hard-fought matches against Santa Clara and San Francisco but fell short in both games. 
• Jayde Harris was named WCC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 10 for the second time this season for her 25 kills and .352 attack percentage. She is the first Pilot to win two WCC Player of the Week honors in over a decade. 
• The Pilots defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs 3-1, moving their overall record to 9-8 and their conference record to 2-4.
•The Pilots played the LMU Lions, the No. 15 BYU Cougars, and the No. 4 USD Toreros but were defeated in all three matches.
• Two weeks ago, the Pilots defeated Pacific for the first time since 2019
• The Pilots fell to Saint Mary's in their first conference game of the season after a  hard-fought five-set match against Saint Mary's. 
• Prior to the WCC opener, the Pilots won the Portland North Marriott Invitational. 
• This was the Pilot's second tournament win this season, making it the first time since 2018 that Portland has won more than one tournament in a season.
• Jayde Harris was named tournament MVP of the Portland North Marriott Invitational. Noelani Helm and Grace Zilbert were also named to the all-tournament team. 
• Jayde Harris was an all-tournament selectee for the Oregon State Invitational.
• The Pilots also competed in the Denver Invitational, where they finished with two wins and one loss.
• Prior to that, the Pilots competed in the Sacramento State Invitational, where they ultimately won the tournament overall. This was their first tournament win since 2019, earning three athletes all-tournament honors. 
• This included Noelani Helm (MVP), Maui Robins, and Jayde Harris.  
• The Pilots lead the conference in aces per set (1.83) and team service aces (148).
• Additionally, the Pilots are ranked fourth in team total digs (1036) and team total attacks (2,632).  
• Noelani Helm is also ranked second in the nation and first within the WCC for triple-doubles, sitting at four so far this season.
• Jayde Harris ranks first in the conference for attacks per set (10.30), second in total attacks (793), fifth in points per set (4.20), third in total points (323.5) and fifth in kills per set (3.62). 
• Grace Zilbert is also ranked fifth overall in total digs (265).

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS 
• The No. 3 San Diego Toreros currently sit at 18-1 overall for the season and 9-0 in conference play. 
• The Toreros are led offensively by redshirt senior Katie Lukes who has 247 kills. She is followed by graduate student Breana Edwards who has 198 kills so far this season.
• They are also led defensively by Annie Benbow who has 238 digs. Leyla Blackwell also has 94 blocks on the season, helping to round out the Toreros' defense. 
• No. 17 BYU sits at 14-5 overall for the season, as well as 7-2 in the conference. 
• The Cougars are led offensively by junior Erin Livingston, who has 247 kills. She is followed by senior Heather Gneiting, who has 153 kills so far this season.
• Defensively, the Cougars are led by senior Whitney Bower who has 162 digs, as well as senior Heather Gneiting who has 74 blocks.