PORTLAND PILOTS (10-6, 3-3 WCC)
WEEK 8: San Diego Toreros and Pepperdine Waves
San Diego Toreros
(8-7, 3-2 WCC)
Day: Thursday
Date: Oct. 17, 2024
Place: San Diego, Calif.
Time: 7 P.M. (PST)
Facility: Jenny Craig Pavilion
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
POR vs. USD
Overall Series: 2-39
Last: L 0-3 (2023)
Pepperdine Waves
(7-8, 4-1 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Oct. 19, 2024
Place: Malibu, Calif.
Time: 12 P.M. (PST)
Facility: Firestone Fieldhouse
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
POR vs. PEP
Overall Series: 4-38
Last: L 0-3 (2023)
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots will head down south to take on San Diego and Pepperdine. They face the San Diego Toreros on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m., followed by a matchup against the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 12 p.m.
• Live stats and live video for each match can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
LAST WEEK
• Portland continued conference play with a 3-3 record.
• The Pilots fell in a 1-3 loss to the San Francisco Dons and swept in a 3-0 victory over the Santa Clara Broncos.
• Against San Francisco, Elin Larsson and Maui Robins led the Pilots' offense, with a match-high 16 kills on the day each.
• Against Santa Clara, the Pilot's attack was led by Elin Larsson, who finished with a match-high 14 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .357. Defensively, Taina Kaauwai recorded a career-high 12 blocks to lead the match.
THIS SEASON
• The Pilots currently lead the WCC in kills per set and assists per set, while ranking second in hitting percentage, third in points per set and fourth in blocks per set.
• Taina Kaauwai is currently ranked 39th in hitting percentage nationally.
• Nationally, Havannah Hoeft sits at 49th in total assists.
• Several Pilots players are ranked across multiple categories on the WCC Overall Statistics Leaderboard: Maui Robins is third in points per set (3.99), fourth in total kills (215) and fifth in service aces (23); Taina Kaauwai ranks second in hitting percentage (.384) and forth in total blocks (70); Havannah Hoeft is first in assists per set (9.86); Nevaeh Bray ranks sixth in total blocks (58.0); and Tinoa Woodward-Hart ranks seventh in total digs (222).
• Portland opened conference play with a dominant 3-0 sweep (25-16, 25-22, 25-20) against the Saint Mary's Gaels at the Chiles Center. This marks the Pilots' first conference sweep since 2021 and their first victory over the Gaels since 2017.
• The Pilots opened conference play in third place standing with a 7-3 record.
• Through the first eight matches, the Pilots had a 7-1 record, marking their best start since 2018 and their second best start ever in program history.
• Robins has registered five double-doubles while Hoeft has recorded eight double-doubles so far this season.
• Hoeft was named the Credit Union One WCC Freshman of the Week for Week 2 of the 2024 season.
• The Portland Pilots had a strong showing at the UCI/adidas Invitational, finishing with a 2-1 record. Lucia Busso and Woodward-Hart were named to the 2024 UCI/adidas Invitational All-Tournament Team.
• Hoeft recorded a match-high 61 assists on Friday, Aug. 30 against Bethune-Cookman, the most in a single match since 2018.
• Robins won the first Credit Union One WCC Offensive Player of the Week to kick off the 2024 season.
• The Pilots went undefeated (3-0) at The Bethune-Cookman Bash at The Beach. Robins and Kaauwai were named to the 2024 Bash at The Beach All-Tournament Team, with Robins earning MVP honors.
• Robins was selected to the 2024 All-WCC Preseason Team.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Megan Burton enters her fifth year as the head coach of the Pilots volleyball program, with assistant coaches Dylan Hamilton, Kyle Homeyer and Remi Pourrat also returning for the 2024 season.
• The Pilots also bring back 12 letter winners from the fall 2023 season.
• The program welcomes five true freshmen to The Bluff this fall in Sydney Cazimero, Amiyah Eason, Maelle Corbach, Tinoa Woodward-Hart and Alana Villela.
• Portland will be looking to captains Maui Robins and Lia Hawken to lead the team to new heights in the 2024 season.
• Robins was named to 2023 All-WCC Second Team and earned a spot on the 2024 All-WCC Preseason team, spearheaded by her outstanding performances last year. Robins led the conference in services aces (39) and second in kills (363) and points (422.5).
• Hawken plays a crucial front-line role, ranking among the top for the Pilots in kills, points and blocks.
• Returning players Taina Kaauwai and Elin Larsson will remain key contributors to the Pilots' lineup. Both earned 2023 All-WCC honors, with Kaauwai securing a spot on the Freshman Team and Larsson receiving honorable mention.
• The Pilots led the WCC in the 2023 season in service aces (197).
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• San Diego began their 2024 season with a 8-7 record. Freshman Kennedy Osunsanmi, is a key player for the Toreros, earning the WCC Freshman of the Week award twice in week one and week four of conference play.
• Pepperdine had a 7-8 record to start their 2024 season. The Waves' offense is led by senior Grace Chillingworth, who ranks third in the WCC with a total of 223 kills. Chillingworth was recognized as the Credit Union 1 WCC Offensive Player of the Week during week six of conference play.
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