By John McCarty
The Oregon State Beavers defeated the Pilots in front of the fourth largest crowd in volleyball history Sept. 2.
The next day, Pilots secured a win against American University in the opening match of the Nike Portland Invitational, but lost to both American University and the University of New Mexico Saturday. The weekend was brought to a close with another loss to the No. 14 University of Oregon Ducks.
The volleyball season is just beginning, and as the Portland Examiner put it, "There is perhaps no collegiate team in the country more prepared to be the next great Cinderella sports story than the Pilots."
Perhaps the most notable thing about the Pilots is their challenging schedule, with the next five matches against top-25 ranked teams such as Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine.
"It is no good to play against teams that don't push us," said Head Coach Joe Houck. "Especially since we are working hard to get ready to compete in the West Coast Conference."
Despite the losses this past week, Houck is optimistic.
"Playing teams like Oregon State gives us a chance to see where the bar is," he said. "That is the bar we aim for and the one we are hopefully going to jump over."
Houck came to Portland in January 2008 after being head coach at both Concordia and Western Oregon University. Houck has built a reputation as a program changer.
He was able to take two weak teams and turn them into conference powerhouses. Houck has since been working to make UP's volleyball team a force to be reckoned with in the notoriously difficult West Coast Conference.
With five new freshman and only three seniors, the Pilots have a young squad, but this doesn't rattle them.
"Our freshman are killing it," said senior Maria Clemens. "They really bring a new fire to the game."
According to Houck, freshmen Ariel Usher, Madison Smith and Kate Bostwick played tremendously despite being outmatched in experience.
The seniors on the team also really picked it up and pushed everyone to play harder, according to Houck.
The Pilots are determined this season.
"We made it a goal to stick with Oregon or any team really, regardless of talent," Maria Clemens said. "We are going to play hard no matter what."
Since Houck came to UP, things have changed both on and off the court.
"We have way better team chemistry this year," Maria Clemens said. "You can even see us laughing on the court. We made it a point to erase bad plays and just have fun."
"The team is really coming together well. We are learning each game and getting better each game," Houck said. "My only regret this weekend is not giving fans a fourth game."
Despite a record-setting crowd on Wednesday, student attendance was notably lax for the remaining games, something Houck hopes to change.
"We play exciting volleyball," he said. "We really need students to come to games."
