SEATTLE, Wash. - Portland Pilots Volleyball plays in their first conference match of the season against the Seattle U Redhawks. The match will take place on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. at Redhawk Center.
Opponent: Seattle U Redhawks (3-7, 0-0 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Sept. 26, 2026
Time: 1 PM
Place: Seattle, Wash.
Facility: Redhawk Center
Video: ESPN+
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
POR vs. SU
Overall Series: 11-3
Last: W 3-0 (Nov. 13, 2025)
THIS SEASON
• Portland is currently 7-2 overall with a winning percentage of .778, currently sitting second among other WCC teams. Portland holds a four-match win streak.
• The Pilots finished Week 4 3-0, going undefeated at the Eastern Washington Volleyball Tournament against CSU Bakersfield, Nevada and Eastern Washington.
• Havannah Hoeft earned WCC Setter of the Week and surpassed 500 career digs and 50 career service aces at the Nevada match last week. Hoeft recorded a total of five match highs across both teams. She led in assists across all three matches and in digs against Nevada and Eastern Washington.
• Hoeft leads Portland in assists (349) and digs (107). She ranks fourth in the WCC for assists per set (9.69) and fifth for total assists (349). Hoeft ranks seventh in Pilot program history with 2,192 assists.
• This season Hoeft has been named to All-Tournament Team three times and Taina Kaauwai has been named to All-Tournament Team twice.
• Kaauwai surpassed 300 career blocks at the Nevada match last week and she leads Portland with 28.0 blocks this season. She ranks first in WCC and second nationally for her hitting percentage of .519.
• Jeryn Hildenbrand surpassed 250 career digs against CSU Bakersfield, recording nine digs at the match. She leads Portland in service aces with 21 this season. Hildenbrand ranks second in the WCC for total service aces and aces per set. Nationally, she is 24th in aces per set and 49th in total service aces.
• Maui Robins had a match high across both teams in kills against Nevada, tying her match high of 23 kills from last season. She now sits fourth in program history for kills at 1,293.
• Tinoa Woodward-Hart surpassed 700 career digs at the CSU Bakersfield match, tallying five against the Roadrunners.
• Kala Chock has earned WCC Freshman of the Week twice this season, the first Pilot to win two Freshman of the Week awards. She is tied with Kaauwai for team leader in kills (97).
• Chock was named MVP of the Portland invite this season and is ranked second in kills among all freshman in the WCC.
LAST SEASON
• The 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
• 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.
• 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 fourth in program history for kills (1,293) and eighth in program history for service aces (129).
• 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 seventh all-time in program history for career assists (2,192) 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).
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• Seattle U went 8-21 overall and 2-16 in WCC conference play last year. This year they are 3-7 overall.
• Adee Butler and Teagan Melton lead the Redhawks in kills, tied at 81 kills each.
• Janae Demet leads her team in digs (125), Lexi Jones leads in blocks (41) and Grace Jones leads in assists (167).
• The Pilots took victory over the Redhawks in both games last season, beating them in a sweep both times.
• Seattle U has not won a match against Portland since 2016.
• Dan Behnke is entering his second season as the Seattle U head volleyball coach.
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