Undefeated in conference play and riding a six-match winning streak against their upcoming opponents, WSU volleyball (7-4, 2-0 WCC) hosts the Portland Pilots (8-4, 1-1) on Thursday in Bohler Gym.
To start conference play, the Pilots first swept Saint Mary’s before falling to Oregon State in four sets. Against a common opponent in CSUN, WSU took home a victory while Portland lost twice, falling first in five sets, then in four on back-to-back days.
Giving the Cougs a further advantage is their program winning streak. In the last six contests between the programs dating back to 2005, WSU is 6-0.
Despite having the historical advantage, the two teams have not faced off since 2019, when the Cougs swept Portland. WSU is 8-1 in the all-time series overall and Thursday’s matchup will give them a clean .800 or .900 winning percentage.
Statistically, Portland has displayed a strong offense to start the season. They rank highly in the conference in several statistical categories: Points per set (17.24 – 1st), hitting percentage (.241 – 2nd), assists (12.59 – 1st) and kills per set (13.49 – 1st).
On both sides of the net, WSU has ranked roughly in the middle but has had one of the more difficult schedules to open the season.
From an individual perspective, the Cougs hold the upper hand. Katy Ryan ranks fourth in the conference in kills, Sage Brustad has the most service aces per set, Emma Barbero has been the third-best libero in digs per set and Lucie Blazkova has one of the highest hitting percentages in the WCC.
Portland has a strong duo at middle, with both ranking among the top blockers in the WCC. Nevaeh Bray (7th) and Tiana Kaauwai (8th) are both in the top 10 in blocks per set.
WSU and Portland will play at 7 p.m. Thursday in Bohler Gym.
dennis dale carson • Oct 4, 2024 at 2:56 pm
Been season ticket holders for 23 years and what I saw in the game against Portland State was that the team doesn’t trust each other to make a play, too much running into each other trying to make plays because they feel that have to get every ball. The other thing is a lack of leadership on the court, no player is stepping up and leading them. Also, stop with serving the ball to a specific spot on the court, just get it over so there can be points earned, not given away on service errors. Saw too much replication of trying to something over and over and it wasn’t working. Coaches need to understand this team better, and stop treating them like the teams of the past. Drill the basics and get them to trust each other.