by Malika Andrews |
After sweeping St. Mary's and falling to Pacific last weekend, the Pilots sit at sixth in the WCC with a 1-1 record in conference play and an 11-3 record overall. San Diego, 9-5 overall, sits at the top of the conference with a perfect 3-0 record. Gonzaga joins San Diego at the top of the WCC with their first 2-0 record since 1990.
San Francisco, who completed preseason at a perfect 10-0, has fallen to the bottom of the conference with an 0-3 WCC record. Loyola Marymount and St. Mary's both have also yet to win a conference match.
The Pilots will face Santa Clara at this evening at 6 p.m. Historically, Portland has struggled against the Broncos. They are a forgettable 4-24 against the Bay Area team in Chiles and 3-26 on enemy turf. Santa Clara handed No. 10 BYU, the coaches' poll favorite, their only WCC loss so far this season. The Pilots will have to be smart about finding their seams against Santa Clara's strong blocking.
On Saturday, Portland will take on San Francisco. Last year, Portland's only conference win was over the Dons. Still, it's difficult to gauge the Don's skill with a WCC record that is a sharp contrast to preseason. Still, with the impeccable talent in the WCC, no team can be underestimated.
Junior setter Djurdjina Milovic's average 10.76 assists per set puts her at fourth in the conference for assists. Emily Liger's 4.80 kills per set put her at fourth in the WCC and Hannah Troutman’s average of 3.66 kills per set puts her at ninth.
Katie Sullivan, previously sidelined with a ankle injury, has been cleared to play and will travel with the team this weekend.
Take a look back at photos from Saturday's match against Pacific:
Malika Andrews is the sports editor for The Beacon. She can be reached at andrewsm17@up.edu or on Twitter @malika_andrews
All stats found on WCC.com
