HONOLULU, Hawaii --The Portland Pilots came up just short in a five-set battle, falling 3-2 (24-26, 25-21, 10-25, 27-25, 11-15) to the Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine on Thursday night at Bankoh Arena inside the Stan Sheriff Center. The non-conference loss moves Portland to 5-2 on the season.
The Pilots were led by a double-double from Maui Robins, who registered 16 kills and 10 digs on the day. Elin Larsson also added 12 kills to help the attack. On the defensive end, Jeryn Hildenbrand chipped in with a career-high 13 digs to go with five blocks from Lucia Busso.
Game Notes
» Portland had three players in double figures in kills: Maui Robins (16), Elin Larsson (12), Lucia Busso (10).
» Jeryn Hildenbrand had a match-high two aces and led the team with a career-high 13 digs.
» Maui Robins registered third double-double of the season with 16 kills and 10 digs.
» Portland attackers were helped by a team-high 36 assists from Havannah Hoeft.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Pilots battled back from a seven-point 23-16 hole, but Hawaii held on to win the first set 26-24.
SET 2 |Portland evened the match with a 25-21 win in the second set. The Pilots erased an one-point deficit and took control for good at 14-13, in a set that saw 12 ties and five lead changes. Hawai'i never led by more than five points.
SET 3 | Hawaii went up 2-1 after taking down the Pilots in the third set. The Pilots lost a tough set 25-10.
SET 4 | Portland then responded to secure the fourth set 27-25 to force a fifth set. The Pilots came out on top of a tight battle, winning a set that was tied seven times and had three lead changes. Portland also supplemented their offense with three aces in the set. Portland got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked four Hawaii attacks.
SET 5 | Portland battled through a back-and-forth match, taking the second and fourth sets but falling in the first, third, and decisive fifth, 15-11. The Pilots held even at 10-10 in the final frame before Hawai'i pulled away.
The Pilots return to Bankoh Arena on Friday at 10 p.m. (PST) for the series finale against the Rainbow Wahine. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ and Spectrum OC16, with live stats available at PortlandPilots.com.
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