Match Stats
A big offensive night for Reghan Pukis with 27 kills, led Portland to an upset over No. 11 BYU.
The Pilots Katie Sullivan pulled out a huge defensive performance with 12 blocks. Pulling out a huge double-double was Hannah Troutman with 22 kills and 22 digs for the Portland. Setter Cali Thompson dished out a match-high 54 assists.
McKenna Miller took charge for BYU with 23 kills, but was not enough to help the Cougars fight past the Pilots. Lyndie Haddock produced a double-double with 24 assists and 10 digs.
Tied at two sets apiece, Portland quickly went up 4-2 to begin the fifth set. A pair of Miller kills kept BYU in the set, tying the set up at nine all. Portland pushed forward, going on a 6-0 run to take the match.
Press Release
Courtesy of Portland Athletics
PORTLAND, Ore.— The Portland Pilots stunned No. 11 Brigham Young in front of a record crowd Thursday night, overwhelming the Cougars in a five-set battle for a 3-2 win at the Chiles Center. The win is the first ever over BYU for the Pilots, and the 11th-ranked Cougars are the highest ranked team ever defeated by a Portland squad. The attendance of 1,113 topped the program’s previous best by more than 400 spectators, and they saw the Pilots win with set scores of 25-22, 25-27, 25-22, 17-27, and 15-9.
The Pilots (11-8, 4-3 West Coast Conference) opened the first set with a seven-point run earning an 8-6 lead before BYU’s (16-3, 5-2 WCC) Whitney Howard stopped the Pilots’ momentum with two kills to even the score. Portland took back the lead with a kill from Hannah Troutman and an ace from Morgan Robinson to make it 14-11. Another kill from Troutman along with a combined block from Sarah Savoca and Katie Sullivan claimed the next three points. The Cougars attempted to regain momentum with kills from Howard and McKenna Miller for a four-point run, but the Pilots battled back to hold the lead with kills from Cali Thompson and Brittney Markwith. Monica Gajda then finished the set with a clean service ace to win the first set 25-22.
The Cougars started off the second set with a three-point lead before the Pilots went on a four-point run, sparked by kills from Reghan Pukis and an ace from Thompson to tie it up 10-10. BYU then tried to pull away with a kill from Miller, but kills from Troutman kept the score close along with a Portland block. Markwith and Pukis added to the comeback along with another block from Savoca and Markwith to tie up the set 19-19. The two teams then fought back and forth in the last few points of the set, pushing the score to extra points. And despite kills from Troutman and Sullivan, Miller recorded back-to-back kills to take the second set 27-25 in favor of BYU.
BYU opened up the third set on a five-point run, but the Pilots responded with a six-point run of their own to tie up the set 6-6. After exchanging several points, Pukis took the lead for the Pilots with an impressive four kills in a row to make it 11-10. Following three kills from Troutman, Thompson recorded two blocks to increase the lead by three to make it 17-14. Pukis then rattled off a flurry of kills to help the home team maintain a 21-17 lead. BYU answered with four straight points, but Pukis stopped the run with another kill. A kill from Troutman and a crucial block by Savoca and Markwith then ended the set 25-22.
Portland started off the fourth set with a 5-2 lead, before BYU went on a seven-point run to make it 11-6 in favor of the Cougars. Troutman then initiated a comeback to bring the Pilots within two, but BYU went on another run to increase the lead by eight. Miller finished up the set with a kill, sending the match into a fifth and deciding set.
The fifth set was evenly played at the start, but Pukis notched three kills in a row to give the Pilots a 7-5 advantage. BYU fought back to tie it 9-9, but Troutman planted a well-placed ace to give the lead back to the Pilots. A huge block by Sullivan and Pukis followed, along with an instrumental kill from Sullivan brought the Pilots within two points of the match win at 13-9. Then an ace from Troutman and a final kill from Sullivan wrapped up the match.
Pukis recorded a career high in kills with 27, and Troutman notched a double-double with 22 kills and 22 digs. Three other Pilots also had double digits in digs, including Gajda with 20, Morgan Robinson with 13, and Lauren Naatz with 10. Sullivan registered a total of 12 blocks on the night and Thompson had 54 assists.
The Pilots will next be in action on Saturday afternoon against No. 5 USD for their second televised match of the season on CSN-NW. Last season the Pilots swept USD in the Chiles Center for their first ever win over a ranked opponent. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m.
Press Release
Courtesy of BYU Athletics
PORTLAND – No. 11 BYU women’s volleyball fell at Portland in a five-set (25-22, 25-27, 25-22, 17-25, 15-9) heartbreaker Thursday night at the Chiles Center.
“I thought we fought hard, but we weren’t quite as disciplined as we need to be,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “We can learn from this and get better for Saturday.”
McKenna Miller led the Cougars with 23 kills.Alohi Robins-Hardy set the team with 28 assists and Mary Lake chipped in 20 digs. Whitney Young Howard collected five blocks and Lyndie Haddock had a double-double of 24 assists and 10 digs. Additionally, Makenna Santiago had 11 digs, Amy Boswell had 16 kills and Lacy Haddock had 13 kills.
Portland (11-8 West Coast Conference) went up 4-2 to begin the decisive fifth set against BYU (16-3, 5-2 WCC). A pair of kills from Miller kept the Cougars in the set, down 6-5, before a 3-1 BYU run tied things up at nine apiece. It was all Pilots from there, as they scored the final six points to win the set and match 15-9.
BYU benefited from four Portland errors to take an early 4-2 lead in the first set. The Pilots, however, took the next five points to go up 7-4. A pair of Howard kills and a block kept the Cougars in the set, as they took a 9-8 edge after another 4-1 rally. A service ace put Portland up by three at 14-11 and a kill later extended its lead to four at 17-13. A Boswell kill and Pilot attack error kept BYU within striking distance, down 20-17, and consecutive Miller kills cut the lead to one at 21-20. Portland powered through with its offense from there, taking the close set 25-22 on an ace.
A Lacy Haddock kill helped the Cougars take a 4-2 advantage to begin the second set. A service error gave BYU an 8-5 lead, but four straight points from Portland put it ahead by one, 9-8. The Cougars countered with a 5-1 rally, capped off by a Santiago ace, to retake the lead at 13-10. The set remained close from there as a Howard and Danelle Parady-Stetler block kept BYU ahead 19-16. The Pilots scored the next three points, but kills from Howard and Haddock put the Cougars back up by two, 21-19. Portland then went on a 6-1 run to take set point, up 24-22, but a pair of Boswell blocks knotted the score back up at 24-all. After more back-and-forth play, consecutive kills from Miller ended the set in BYU’s favor, 27-25.
The Cougars jumped out to a 5-0 lead to start the third set with help from a pair of Lyndie Haddock kills. The Pilots then followed with a 5-1 run to tie the score at 6-6. With BYU ahead 9-7, the two teams remained within a point of each other until a pair of kills from Portland’s Hannah Troutman put the Pilots up 14-12. After a Portland attack error, it went on a 5-1 rally to take a 19-14 advantage, forcing a Cougar timeout. BYU scored six of the next eight points, capped off by two Lacy Haddock kills, to get within a point, down 21-20. Despite the late Cougar rally, the Pilots took another close set 25-22 on a block.
Portland took a 5-2 advantage at the beginning of the fourth set, but BYU quickly countered with a 9-2 run to take an 11-6 lead. The Pilots then rallied to get within a point, down 12-11, but a block, kill and ace from Hannah Robison helped extend the Cougars’ lead to six at 19-13. A Miller kill gave BYU set point at 24-16 before another kill from Miller ended the set 25-17, sending the match to the decisive fifth set.
The Cougars return to action Saturday, Oct. 15, at noon PDT against Gonzaga at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The match will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Links to the video feed and live stats can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.
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