by Ben Arthur|
After having their 10-game winning streak snapped by Southern Utah last Saturday, the Portland Pilots, led by junior Brittney Markwith opened up West Coast Conference play with a win in the Chiles Center last night. Markwith tallied 14 kills with a hitting percentage of .684 in Portland’s 3-0 sweep of St. Mary’s.
“(Brit) is hitting harder than I’ve seen her hit in three years,” junior Makayla Lindburg said. “She was dominating the ball.”
Set one started out neck and neck, the Pilots traded points with the Gaels. It wasn’t until the midway point of the set that things started go Portland's way. Solid play, instigated by an ace from sophomore Morgan Robinson, gave the Pilots a 15-9 lead, forcing St. Mary’s to take their first timeout of the game.
After the timeout, the Pilots continued to roll. St. Mary’s would go on to call an additional timeout, but the combined 9-9 attacks for Markwith and Lindburg proved to be too much. A hard hit from sophomore Hannah Troutman sealed it for good.
Portland took the first set 25-20.
Portland's 5-1 run at the start of set two was erased by St. Mary’s who came back to tie the set at nine. The Pilots responded with a 4-0 run led by three kills from Troutman, and one from Markwith. St. Mary’s then went on a three-point unanswered run of their own. After Portland scored a point in retaliation, the Gaels answered back by winning the longest rally of the night to close the gap to 16-14. The Pilots called their first timeout of the set when St. Mary’s cut Portland's lead to one, 23-22.
Kills by Markwith and Emily Liger held off the Gaels and secured the second set for the Pilots 25-23.
Set three was the closest set of the match with seven tied scores. Portland took early control with a 6-2 start. St. Mary’s made an aggressive comeback by going on a five point unanswered run to take the lead 7-6. When the deficit grew to 11-14, the Pilots took a timeout. With the game tied at 16, a pair of service aces from junior Monica Gajda sparked a 5-1 run to give Portland a 21-17 lead. The Gaels mounted a furious end-of-game run to tie the set at 21. After denying the Pilots of two match points, an error by St. Mary’s cost them the match and gave Portland the set 25-23.
Lindburg and sophomore Sarah Savoca, who protected the net with three blocks apiece, led the Pilots' defensive effort. Troutman racked up 12 digs for the team.
Portland (11-2, 1-0 WCC) will host their second game of WCC play in the Chiles Center, Saturday at noon against the No. 23 ranked Pacific Tigers.
Ben Arthur is a sports reporter for The Beacon. He can be reached at arthur17@up.edu or on Twitter @KingArthur_425
