Women's Volleyball

Pilots Extend Win Streak to Five With Sweep of Wazzu

Sept. 21, 2004

PORTLAND, Ore. - The University of Portland volleyball team extended its win streak tonight to five matches with a 3-0 (33-31, 30-24, 30-25) sweep of the Washington State Cougars in Pullman, Wash. The win marked a first for the Pilots in the all-time series with the Cougars. Portland improves to 9-3 on the season, while the Cougars drop to 3-9 overall.

The Cougars took an early lead in game one, but Portland settled down and tied it up at 11-11 on a Nicole Thometz spike. The Pilots then went on a 9-4 run for a 20-15 lead. WSU came back to hold a 29-28 advantage nearing the end of the game, but Portland's Michelle Oakland pounded one down on a quick set by Sheena Surplus, giving the Pilots another chance. A kill by Liz Lord gave Portland the advantage, and then Thometz sent the game out of reach for the Cougars with a hard shot down the line for a 33-31 win. The Pilots used the momentum of the first game and held the Cougars to a .109 hitting efficiency in the second game. WSU managed just 13 kills, compared to Portland's 18. There was only one lead change in game two as Portland cruised to a 30-24 victory.

Portland's best game of the night came in the third set when they pounded out 18 team kills and only four attacking errors for a game-high .483 hitting percentage. Washington State had one more kill than Portland, but doubled up on the errors. Sara Vercruyssen ended the game for Portland with another powerful kill and a 30-25 Portland win.

Three Portland players tallied double-figure kills in the match. Vercruyssen led the team with 12, while teammates Oakland and Thometz added 11 kills each.Thometz posted her third double-double, adding 11 digs to her stat line. Sheena Surplus set up 44 assists, while Murphy McClenahan totaled 10 digs. As a team, Portland hit for .264 on the night. Jennifer Todd led all players with 14 kills and a .464 hitting percentage. Kelly Rosin added 10 kills, while Stacey Holbrook chipped in 12 digs. The Cougars hit for .225 and out-blocked the Pilots 10 to three.

UP NEXT: The Pilots will open the WCC portion of the 2004 season facing San Diego and Santa Clara on the road on Oct. 1-2. Both matches are set to begin at 7:00 p.m.