Thursday, Oct. 15
Pilots (5-13, 1-2) at Santa Clara (10-8, 0-3)
7:00 p.m. - Santa Clara, Calif. (Leavey Center)
Series: Santa Clara leads 40-6
Last season: 0-2, @POR 0, SCU 3 • @SCU 3, POR 0
Live stats/video: santaclarabroncos.com
Saturday, Oct. 17
Pilots (5-13, 1-2) at San Francisco
1:00 p.m. – San Francisco, Calif. (War Memorial Gym)
Series: USF leads 29-20
Last season: 0-2, @POR 0, USF 3 • @USF 3, POR 0
Live stats/video: usfdons.com
This Week in Pilots Volleyball...
The Portland Pilots will continue West Coast Conference action on the road this weekend in the Bay Area. The Pilots will face Santa Clara on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. in the Leavey Center followed by San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. in the War Memorial Gym.
Scouting Santa Clara
SCU is currently on a three-match losing streak and most recently fell to Saint Mary’s 3-2 (25-23, 20-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-10) and #24 San Diego 3-1 ( 25-11, 23-25, 25-18, 25-14). Katherine Douglas leads on the attack with 2.54 kills per set (165 total) and 15 service aces while Libby Morrison anchors the defense with 3.05 digs per set (174 total). Tanya Schmidt has 62 blocks and 0.98 bps. Against ranked opponents, the Broncos have gone 0-4 against #7 Hawaii (3-1), #9 UCLA (3-0), #24 USD (3-1) and #25 Arizona (3-0).
Eight returning letterwinners and three starters return this fall. Last season, Santa Clara went 18-10 (8-6, t-4th WCC).
Jon Wallace enters his 11th year as head coach at SCU.
Pilots/Broncos Series
Pilots went 0-2 last season against Santa Clara. The Broncos own a 40-6 advantage in the all-time series with Portland. In their last meeting on Nov. 8, 2008, SCU beat the Pilots 3-0 at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, Calif.
Scouting San Francisco
The Dons are coming off a two-loss weekend falling to #24 San Diego 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-17, 25-21) and then were swept by Saint Mary’s (25-20, 25-16, 25-21). Sarah Mandala paces the USF attack with a conference-leading 4.76 kills per set and is also a team-second best in digs with 1.24 dps. Alaina Sully and Leanna Ludes share duty at the setting position with 7.83 and 5.66 assists per set respectively. Erin Bragg has a team-high 60 blocks for 1.03 bps. Against ranked opponents, USF has gone 0-3 facing #11 Stanford (3-0), #14 Oregon (3-1), #24 San Diego (3-1).
Last season, the Dons finished 22-8 (11-3, 2nd WCC). Sevenletterwinners and three starters return this fall, as well as seven newcomers.
Head coach Gilad Doran is in his third season at the helm of the USF program.
Pilots/Dons Series
Pilots went 0-2 last season against the Dons. USF has the 29-20 advantage over Portland in the all-time series. In their last meeting on Nov. 1, 2008, the Dons defeated the Pilots 3-0 in Portland, Ore.
Looking Back
The Pepperdine Waves defeated the host Portland Pilots 3-0 in WCC volleyball action at the Chiles Center on Saturday afternoon (10/10). Pepperdine won by scores of 25-23, 25-19 and 25-14. Junior Jessica Clemens led the Pilots with 11 kills, while senior Maria Clemens added eight kills and 10 digs. Pepperdine hit .279 for the match, while the Pilots hit .157. Pepperdine also had a 47-43 edge in total digs, while the Pilots had a 6-5 margin in team blocks. Senior Shelley Sievers led Portland with four block assists.
On Thursday evening (10/8), both Maria and Jessica Clemens turned in double-doubles as the Pilots downed conference foe Loyola Marymount in an exciting five-set battle at the Chiles Center. Trailing 5-1 in the deciding set, Portland mounted a thrilling rally to claim the match with a 16-14 fifth-set victory. The Pilots won by scores of 25-20, 19-25, 25-19, 18-25, 16-14. Maria Clemens led the Pilots attack with 17 kills to complement her 11 digs and three blocks. Meanwhile, sister Jessica recorded 16 kills and 10 digs. In 17 of 18 matches this season, it has been a Clemens sister who has led the Pilots offensively. It marks the seventh double-double this season for Jessica and the first for Maria. Senior setter Kaylyn Jones dished out a match-high 52 assists, destroying her previous season-high of 26. Sophomore Marissa Plummer led both teams in blocks with five rejections including one solo block. Plummer also added nine kills and a service ace. Freshman Ariel Usher contributed seven kills and four block assists. On defense, junior liberosDanielle Dupar and Jessica Baty recorded 11 digs apiece. The victory marked the first win for UP against LMU since sweeping the Lions on Nov. 17, 2005 in Portland, Ore.
Where UP Stands
In WCC matches...
Senior Kaylyn Jones currently sits fourth in the conference in assists per set with 7.82 and is tied for the third-best performance in a match with 52 against LMU (10/8). Freshman Ariel Usher is sixth in the WCC with .364 hitting percentage. Junior Jessica Clemens is sixth in kills per set with 3.27. Junior libero Danielle Dupar is sixth out of all players in the conference in digs per set with 3.22.
As a team Portland holds the fifth-best performance in digs with 58 against LMU (10/8).
In all matches...
Dupar currently sits at fifth in the conference in digs per set with 4.04 (182 total), while junior libero Jessica Baty is eighth with 2.94 dps and 106 total. Also making top-10 in the conference in the dig category is junior outside hitter Jessica Clemens in 10th with 2.75 dps and 168 total.
Jessica Clemens’ seven double-doubles ties her for first in the conference so far this season with LMU’s Alaina Bergsma. She sits at third in kills total with 189 and is eighth in the kills per set category with 3.10.
Freshman outside hitter Kate Bostwick is seventh in service aces with 0.26 per set (10 total). Her four service aces in a single match (vsAmerican, 9/3) ties her for a WCC sixth-best match-high.
Senior Shelley Sievers is eighth in the WCC in blocks per set with 0.95, while sophomore Marissa Plummer is tied for the conference’s third-best blocking performance for a single match with nine blocks total against American (9/5).
As a team, Portland has the conference’s second-best performance in service aces for one match with 11 (vs. American, 9/3), behind Pepperdine’s 13 (vs. Northern Arizona, 9/3). The Pilots own the conference’s fourth-best performance in team blocks for one match with 15 (vs. American, 9/5). UP has the fourth best hitting percentage among WCC teams with .204.
All-Tournament Material
In tournament action this season, senior Maria Clemens was named to the Varney’s Kansas State Invitational All-Tournament Team (9/12). Junior Jessica Clemens and sophomore Marissa Plummer were selected to both the 2009 Nike Portland Invitational All-Tournament Team (9/6) and the 2009 Nike Cougar Classic All-Tournament Team in Pullman, Wash. (8/29).
Sister Act
In 17 of 18 matches this season, it has been a Clemens sister (senior Maria or junior Jessica) who has led the Pilots offensively.
The Firepower
The Pilots return a variety of talent this year, losing three starters from a year ago. Three seniors are playing their final season in Pilot purple. Senior setter Kaylyn Jones is currently averaging 6.00 assists per set this season, while middle blocker Shelley Sievers wreaks havoc at the net with a team-high 0.95 blocks per set and 53 blocks total on the season. Outside hitter Maria Clemens, who brings together an effective combination of work ethic and athleticism to average 2.48 kills per set, 1.74 digs per set and 0.44 blocks per set.
The Pilots bring back plenty of firepower with junior Jessica Clemens and 2008 WCC All-Freshmen selection sophomore Marissa Plummer. Jessica Clemens currently leads the team with 3.10 kills per set and also contributes 2.75 digs per set. She leads the team in service aces so far this season with 12 (0.20 per set). Plummer consistently puts up numbers on both sides of the net with 1.73 kills and a 50 blocks total (0.81 bps).
Leading the Pilots’ defensive effort is junior libero Danielle Dupar who has a team-high 4.04 digs per set and 182 total. Sophomore outside hitter Kati Hronek has helped out on the attack with 1.52 kills per set, a team fourth-best.
The Newest Pilots
Six newcomers are enjoying their first season on The Bluff in 2009 including two redshirts. Junior Libero/DS Jessica Baty and freshman outside hitter Rachel Femling have made their debut as Pilots after a redshirt season last fall. Baty currently has a team-second-best 2.94 digs per set.
Kate Bostwick (5-9, Pendleton, Ore.), an outside hitter, is already making an impact with 1.05 kills and 1.26 digs per set. Bostwick is second on the team in service aces with 10 so far. Coming to UP from Pendleton High,Bostwick was an Oregon 5A First Team All-State selection as a junior and Intermountain Conference Volleyball Player of the Year her senior year.
Madison Smith (5-10, Palos Verdes, Calif.) has been sharing duty at the setter position and posts a team-second-best 4.56 assists per set. Smith has also sent over eight service aces. Smith, from Palos Verdes High School, was co-MVP of the Division IAA Bay League during her senior year.
Middle blocker Ariel Usher (6-1, Forest Grove, Ore.) has a team-high .212 hitting percentage with 1.42 kills per set. Usher has been strong at the net with 44 blocks total, good enough for the team’s third best. From Glencoe High School, Usher was a first team All-State Selection as a junior and was named the Northwest Oregon Conference (NWOC) Volleyball Player of the Year during both her junior and senior seasons.
Rounding out the incoming class is Jessica Nguyen (5-2, Beaverton, Ore.), a DS from Southridge High who was the Metro League Co-Player of the Year as a senior and all-state honorable mention. The team looks well positioned to begin a new tradition with this core group and the additions to come in the future.
Pilots in the News
Sophomore Marissa Plummer headlined an article in the Auburn Journal (10/7). (Full article)
The sister act of Maria and Jessica Clemens was featured in The Oregonian on (9/28). (Full article)
Junior Danielle Dupar was featured in her hometown newspaper the Marin Independent Journal (9/3). (Full article)
Head Coach Joe Houck and the UP volleyball program were the focus of a Portland Examiner article entitled “Pilot Volleyball: Tomorrow’s Cinderella Story” on Aug. 20. (Full article)
Read all articles at portlandpilots.com
