Despite coming back after losing the first two sets, the Portland Pilots volleyball team fell to the Pacific Tigers in their conference opener 3-2.
After falling 2-0 in the first two sets, the Pilots made some adjustments to their lineup, including subbing out freshman Reghan Pukis, who has been battling an illness for the past few days and is the WCC leader in attacks per set with 11.50.
“It’s easy to make excuses,” said Brent Crouch, head coach of the Pilots volleyball team, in regard to all the lineup changes. “But we’re not going to at all.”
“I thought we could’ve beaten them despite that.”
The Pilots entered the game at 9-3 after going 2-1 in the Nike Invitational, losing the opener to crosstown rivals Portland State but notching wins against the UTEP Miners and the CSUN Matadors. Hannah Troutman and Cali Thompson also earned all-tournament honors.
The Pacific Tigers sat at 5-6 going into the game, coming off a tough 3-2 win over Cal Berkeley after being swept by No. 4 Stanford. They are led by a pair of solid sophomores in Emily Baptista and Ashlyn Flemming, who came into the game with 152 and 122 kills respectively.
Portland got off to an early lead in the first set, but Pacific stayed neck and neck with them and eventually took the lead from them. The Tigers never looked back, claiming the first set 25-20.
In the second set, the Pilots and the Tigers traded points early on. No team was able to take a lead more than four for the majority of the set. However, after an overturned call that gave Pacific a 20-18 lead, the Tigers had the momentum. They would take the second set.
The Pilots came out strong in the third set, taking advantage of their new lineup attacking early and often, taking a quick 7-3 lead. Although the Tigers kept it close, the Pilots were able to pull away with the win in the third set of 25-22.
The Pilots kept the momentum on their side going into the fourth set. Visibly energized from winning the third set, Portland came out hitting hard and playing solid defense, including a wild back and forth kept alive by some last second saves from Thompson and Troutman. Another pancake save from Morgan Robinson helped the Pilots get a 20-16 lead. The Pilots took the fourth set 25-17.
The momentum was on Portland’s side going into the fifth set. Unfortunately for them, they got off to a slow start and got down 2-6 early on. The Tigers came out determined not to blow their 2-0 lead they had built earlier. Pacific won the fifth set 15-9, giving them the match win 3-2.
After the tough loss, Crouch identified the things they had to work on saying, “it’s always the same stuff.”
“If we just passed a little bit better and served a little bit better,” Crouch said. “Passing and serving are always the big things.”
“We were serving tough but we just weren’t passing well,” said senior Hannah Troutman, who also ranks in several categories including second in the WCC in points per set with 4.22 and third in attacks per set 11.23, kills per set with 3.8, and total kills with 167.
“We’ve got a lot to work on tomorrow before we play St. Mary’s.”
The Pilots now sit at 9-4 and will take on St. Mary’s in their next game on Sep. 23 at home.
