PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland Pilots Women's Volleyball is hosting the Portland State Vikings in their first regular season match on Friday, Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. at the Chiles Center. The Pilots will also be hosting the Nevada Wolf Pack the next day on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. at the Chiles Center.
Opponent: Portland State Vikings (0-0, 0-0 Big Sky)
Day: Friday
Date: Aug. 28, 2026
Time: 6 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Facility: Chiles Center
Video: ESPN+
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
POR vs. PSU
Overall Series: 21-36
Last: W 3-1 (Sep. 15, 2022)
Opponent: Nevada Wolf Pack (0-0, 0-0 Mountain West)
Day: Saturday
Date: Aug. 29, 2026
Time: 1 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Facility: Chiles Center
Video: ESPN+
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
POR vs. NEV
Overall Series: 4-2
Last: W 3-2 (Aug. 26, 2022)
LAST SEASON FOR PORTLAND
• Pilots went 14-15 overall and 9-9 in WCC play, the most conference wins for Portland since 2016.
• Portland had five Pilots make All-WCC: Maui Robins, Havannah Hoeft, Lucia Busso, Taina Kaauwai and Elin Larsson.
•Portland opened the season undefeated at the Vandal Volleyball Invitational, sweeping CSU Fullerton, Oral Roberts, and Idaho in straight sets.
• Elin Larsson led the Pilots with match-high kills in every game and was named MVP of the Vandal Volleyball Invitational. Lucia Busso earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team after finishing with 25 kills over three matches, second most on the team.
• Setter Havannah Hoeft paced the Pilots with 92 assists across three matches, averaging a league-best 10.22 per set. She also directed Portland's attack to a .309 hitting percentage, the top mark in the WCC. Hoeft surpassed 1,000 career assists in just the third match of her sophomore year.
• In their home opener at the Portland Invitational, Pilots swept Eastern Washington in straight sets (25-15, 25-21, 25-23) for their fourth sweep of the season.
• Robins was named Portland Invitational Tournament Co-MVP while Hoeft was named to the All-Tournament Team.
• On Sept. 8, Libero Tinoa Woodward-Hart was named West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Week after leading Portland's back row in all three matches. She posted a match-high 11 digs at Oregon, followed with a team-high 14 digs against Eastern Washington, and capped the week with a career-high 28 digs in the five-set victory over CSUN.
• On Sept. 18 against the Idaho State Bengals, Maui Robins officially eclipsed 1,000 career kills.
• On Sept. 29, Hoeft was named West Coast Conference Setter of the Week for her performance, marking Portland's second weekly conference award this season and the second of her career.
• The Portland win against Seattle U on Oct. 4 gave the Pilots their first 3-0 start in conference play in program history.
• The Pilots opened their homestand with a dominant 3-0 sweep over San Francisco, hitting a season-best .411 — their highest attack percentage in a match since 2018. This is the first time the Pilots have posted four wins in six conference games to start WCC play since 2017.
• Senior Lucia Busso was named WCC Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 10, earning her first career weekly honor and Portland's third conference award this season. Busso totaled 29 kills and 34 points while hitting .373 across two matches. She has now surpassed 600 career kills and 150 career blocks, marking her best season yet with 238 kills so far.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The program welcomes back 13 letter winners from the 2025 campaign.
• The Pilots add six freshmen to the roster this fall — Josie Portela, Ellie Diehl Palmer, Ava Lilo, Shaylee Stephen, Kala Chock and Sophia Schneck — along with Sophomore transfer Lillian Lansing.
• Returning standouts Maui Robins and Havannah Hoeft will continue to play pivotal roles in the Pilots' lineup.
• Outside Hitter Maui Robins, was named to the 2026 WCC Preseason Team, the third year in a row.
• Last year Robins led her team in service aces, along with Hoeft, and became the 22nd Pilot to reach 1,000 career points.
• Robins finished last season second of her team in kills (300), second in digs (234), fourth is assists (40) and fourth in blocks (42).
• Robins is ranked sixth in program history for kills (1,146) and tenth in program history for service aces (119).
• Setter Havannah Hoeft made 2026 All-WCC Preseason and started in all 29 games last season. This is the second year Hoeft has been named to the Preseason Team.
• Hoeft led Portland with 919 assists and was tied for the most service aces along with Maui Robins. She is ranked ninth all-time in program history for career assists (1,856) and received WCC Setter of the Week twice last season.
• Returner Taina Kaauwai was named to All-WCC Second Team last season. She was second on the team in blocks (77), and fourth in kills (183) and service aces (25).
• Nevaeh Bray is returning for another season. Last year Bray led the team in blocks (78), and was fifth on the team in kills (72).
• Tinoa Woodward-Hart led Portland in digs last year (297) and was third in assists (47).
THE STAFF
• Megan Burton enters her seventh season as head coach of the Pilots volleyball program.
• Dylan Hamilton is the associate head coach, while assistant coach Kyle Homeyer returns for the 2026 season. The Pilots also welcome back Kanza Tanuvasa in her second year as an assistant coach.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• Portland State went 11-17 overall and 7-9 in the Big Sky Conference last season.
• Alivia Eikenberg led the Vikings with 397 kills last year while Ava Blascziek ran the offense with 698 assists. Paige Stepaniuk led the team in 459 digs.
• Portland State lost Allison Panter who led the team in aces (28) and Naomi White who led the team in blocks (117.0).
• The Vikings ended last season with a loss against Sacramento State in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament.
• Michael Seemann is entering his 10th year as the Portland State Vikings Volleyball head coach.
• Nevada went 8-20 overall and 4-14 in the Mountain West Conference last year.
• Jason Borchin is starting his first year as the Nevada Wolf Pack Volleyball head coach.
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