PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland volleyball team cruised to a three-set sweep of the Seattle U Redhawks (25-21, 25-16, 25-23) Thursday in the team's 2024 home debut at Chiles Center. The Pilots improve to 6-1 overall on the season, matching the second best start in program history.
Elin Larsson led a balanced offensive attack for the Pilots with 12 kills. Lia Hawken had 11 kills and hit .500 for the match, while Taina Kaauwai and Maui Robins added eight kills apiece. Robins led the team defensively with 14 digs and Havannah Hoeft added 11 digs.
Game Notes
» Portland never trailed on the way to winning the first set 25-21.
» The Pilots also led start-to-finish in the second set and closed with a 25-16 margin.
» Portland attackers were helped by a match-high 36 assists from Havannah Hoeft.
» The Pilots hit .317 overall compared to just .173 for the Redhawks.
» Portland gained a 8-5 edge in total blocks as Kaauwai led the way with four block assists.
» The 6-1 record for Portland matches the second best Division I start in program history along with he 2015 and 2017 teams (2018 squad was 12-0).
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Pilots jumped out to a 5-1 lead following a block by Hawken and Kaauwai. Portland led by as many as five points at 23-18 before finishing off the set, collecting 18 kills in the set. Larsson led the way with seven kills.
SET 2 | Portland carried momentum from a set-one win by securing a 25-16 victory in set number two. The Pilots separated early with a 7-0 run of Hoeft's serve to go up 9-2. Seattle U got no closer than eight points the rest of the way as Portland cruised. The Pilots hit .370 over the course of the set, while the front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four Seattle U attacks in the stanza.
SET 3 | The third set was a different story as the Redhawks were leading 19-13 and appeared in control. The Pilots closed strong with a 10-2 run to earn the sweep. Portland Scored five straight points on Robins' serve and then four more on Kaauwai's before a Seattle U attacking error sealed the victory. The Pilots registered a .375 attack percentage with 17 kills in the set win. Five Pilots registered multiple kills in the set led by four each from Kaauwai and Hawken.
Up Next
A rematch will happen on Saturday in Seattle as the Pilots and Seattle U will meet at 1 p.m. at the Redhawk Center. The match will be on ESPN+ with live links at PortlandPilots.com.
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