 When it came to groundbreaking moments for the Portland volleyball program in 2018, the library was getting pretty packed by the time this past Nov. 30 rolled around.
The Pilots had already won a program-record 12 matches in a row to start the year, and on that fateful Friday they were playing in Round 2 of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, the first postseason berth ever earned by Portland. But the energy and fun of the season was about to be extinguished, as Utah Valley sprinted to a 6-0 lead in the fifth set of their match. The Pilots called timeout, revisited their key theme of the year, and managed a shocking comeback, eventually winning a drama-packed match (25-19, 16-25, 29-27, 27-29, 19-17) to move to Round 3. Portland (20-12) will play host to UNLV (21-11) on Thursday, Dec. 6 with a slot in the semifinals on the line. “The message we put across was the same message from all year – we are in total control of our actions on this next point, and I believe we can win this point. And then, let’s do it again,” said first-year head coach Jeff Baxter, who was a collegiate player himself just seven short years ago. “Momentum exists in your head, and it’s not a real thing. It was tough being in that hole, but we framed it as, we were in control of our actions.” “We had a strong preseason, then conference didn’t go the way we wanted it to, so we made a group decision to go into this tournament with a completely different mindset, to absolutely leave it all out there and prove to ourselves our capabilities,” said senior outside hitter Reghan Pukis, who has a team-high 373 kills on the year. “This team is totally tough, willing to grind, and you saw that against Utah Valley. It doesn’t matter what the score says, we take each point by the point, and work our way forward with relentless dedication.” It’s been an impressive climb up the charts for Portland, which survived an 0-27 season in 2013 and slowly became more notable within the extremely tough West Coast Conference. Baxter, who came in as an assistant in 2016, saw the program stabilize enough to be a .500 proposition, with this year’s burst including a best-ever total of 20 victories. This year has also included WCC losing streaks of four and five matches, so Portland long ago understood there would be slumps and struggles to confront. But the roster, which tips to the younger side, has been resilient. Junior middle Katie Barker (276 kills, .342 hitting percentage, 139 blocks) was an all-WCC honorable mention selection; junior Cali Thompson (10.72 assists per set) had 62 assists against Utah Valley; and sophomore Izzy Guzik has 313 kills. Pukis has been a fundamental voice and physical anchor for it all; her first year in Portland (2016) had her shoulder-to-shoulder with the remaining players who endured that 0-27 team, which gave her a sense of how to bounce back. In 2018, people turned to her regularly for that steadying tone every team needs. “I’d like to think there is some natural leadership, but I’ve been lucky to play on teams that had awesome leaders around me. My dad has been instrumental in developing my sense of leadership; he was in the military, and he and I talk about it constantly, like multiple times a week,” said Pukis, who played at UNLV her freshman year. “What an influential leader would do in that given moment – my dad has been the most instrumental in shaping that, but I’ve watched great leaders when I was younger. And I’ve been on teams with older players who were poor leaders, and I’ve learned from that, too. This season, I’ve learned the importance of interacting with people on an individual basis; not everyone is the same uniform model.” “Reghan has been an absolute workhorse, and been there when we go to her at any point of the match. She’s gone above and beyond, setting the tone with her leadership,” Baxter said. “She’s consistently been there and aware of the reality of where we are as a volleyball team, always helping us upgrade. I know we’ve has some ups and downs in the leadership perspective, and it’s a process. She’s grown into that role at an exceptional rate.” While the thought of Portland volleyball being a factor in postseason play is brand new, the Pilots are hoping it becomes familiar and natural going forward. The difficulty of breaking through the WCC isn’t going away (BYU, San Diego and Pepperdine all reached the NCAA Tournament), but the Pilots are looking to turn that fuzzy sense of momentum in concrete progress. “There was an eagerness early on, and very obviously this team had high goals and expectations of themselves. They are hungry and like to prove people wrong – they have a massive chip on their shoulder,” Baxter added. “We think we have earned the right to continue playing; we were really excited to get this opportunity. No one on this team is ready to be done. They love playing for and with each other. We try not to focus on external things for validation, but this has solidified some things in terms of this being a successful season.” “From Day 1, we said this team would play in the postseason, and we’d do everything we needed to do to be the first (from Portland) to make it,” Pukis said. “It’s great to be part of that historical moment, but my entire time at Portland, it’s been a constant upward trajectory. I think it’ll be much cooler if I can look back in five years, and they’ve been in the postseason ever since. That will be the more lasting, rewarding piece. I want it to become the norm."  UNLV 3, FRESNO STATE 2 (25-19, 16-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-7)
Las Vegas, NV -- UNLV fell behind in the fifth set, 4-3, but closed with a 12-3 run to slip past Fresno State and into the next round of the NIVC. The Rebels (21-11) will play Portland in Round 3. They were led by Mariena Hayden's 18 kills and 19 digs, and Thea Sweder added 14 kills while Antonette Rolda closed with 23 assists. Hayden topped 100 aces on the season, which is only the third time a player has hit the century mark in aces for a season since rally scoring began in 2008. The Bulldogs (21-11) got 16 kills from Taylor Slover and Madelyn Halteman added 39 assists.  PORTLAND 3, UTAH VALLEY 2 (25-19, 16-25, 29-27, 27-29, 19-17)
Laramie, WY -- Portland fell behind Utah Valley 6-0 to start the fifth set, but fought back to tie it at 7-all and then wrapped up the match on kills from Liz Reich and Izzy Guzik. The Pilots (20-12), who are in their first postseason in program history, move to Round 3 against UNLV or Fresno State. Portland got 18 kills from Reghan Pukis; Reich had 17 kills and Guzik closed with 15 kills. Cali Thompson had 62 assists. The Wolverines (20-14) had 16 kills from the arm of Kristen Allred, and Makaila Jarema had 11 kills. Seven Merrill had 21 digs.  TULANE 3, CALIFORNIA BAPTIST 1 (25-18, 25-15, 22-25, 25-15)
New Orleans, LA -- Tulane held California Baptist to under 20 points in the three games it won, clinching a spot in Round 3 of the NIVC. The Green Wave (27-8) will play Valparaiso in the next round. Tulane's Dayna Kern finished with 14 kills, and Makala Heidelberg closed with 13 kills and 17 digs. Kaylie McHugh closed with 23 digs. California Baptist (20-11) got 11 kills from Yagoda Jedrzejczak; Natalie Zimmerer finished with 37 assists and 16 digs.  COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 3, GEORGIA TECH 1 (25-22, 17-25, 26-24, 25-18)
Atlanta, GA -- College of Charleston was led by Kennedy Madison's 20 kills and topped Georgia Tech on its home floor in moving through Round 2 of the NIVC The Cougars (23-11) will face Clemson in Round 3. Lauren Freed had 17 kills and 12 digs, and Devon Rachel chipped in with 16 kills and 14 digs. Allison Beckman had 56 assists. The Yellow Jackets (18-15) saw Mikaila Dowd author 22 kills and 11 digs, and Mariana Brambilla closed with 21 kills. Matti McKissock added 40 assists and 11 digs.  NORTH TEXAS 3, WICHITA STATE 1 (25-19, 24-26, 25-14, 25-21)
Denton, TX -- North Texas didn't let dropping a close second set become a distraction, riding a strong offense to slip past Wichita State in the second round of the NIVC. The Mean Green (19-16) got 18 kills, on just two errors, from Valerie Valerian, and Barbara Teakell added 15 kills. Jordyn Williams had 14 kills as them team hit .390 overall. Karley York had 59 assists The Shockers (14-18) were paced by the 17 kills of Megan Taflinger, and Tabitha Brown added 16 kills and 14 digs. Kora Kauling had 28 assists. VALPARAISO 3, MIAMI UNIV. (OH) 0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-18) Oxford, OH -- Valparaiso swept past host Miami University as Katherine Carlson had 12 kills to guide the Crusaders into Round 3 of the NIVC. Valparaiso (27-10) got 30 assists from Brittany Anderson and 19 digs from Rylee Cookerly. The RedHawks (23-9) were led by the nine kills of Gaby Harper, who also had 12 digs. Abigail Huser added 16 digs. COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 3, GEORGIA TECH 1 (25-22, 17-25, 26-24, 25-18) Atlanta, GA -- College of Charleston was led by Kennedy Madison's 20 kills and topped Georgia Tech on its home floor in moving through Round 2 of the NIVC The Cougars (23-11) will face Clemson in Round 3. Lauren Freed had 17 kills and 12 digs, and Devon Rachel chipped in with 16 kills and 14 digs. Allison Beckman had 56 assists. The Yellow Jackets (18-15) saw Mikaila Dowd author 22 kills and 11 digs, and Mariana Brambilla closed with 21 kills. Matti McKissock added 40 assists and 11 digs. CLEMSON 3, RADFORD 1 (25-18, 25-22, 26-28, 25-14) Clemson, SC -- Clemson made the most of its host opportunity, downing Radford for its second sweep in two nights to advance to Round 3 of the NIVC. The Tigers (19-14) got 19 kills from Solei Thomas, with Brooke Bailey adding 18 kills. Gabby Easton had 41 assists, and Emily Curtis had 17 digs The Highlanders (22-7) got 12 kills from Mallory McKnight; Haley Kleespies chipped in with 42 assists. IOWA STATE 3, BRADLEY 0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-13) Ames, IA -- Iowa State got 17 kills and 12 digs from Jess Schaben as the Cyclones moved by Bradley and into Round 3 of the NIVC. The Cyclones (18-13) will play North Texas in the next round. Piper Mauck had 32 assists, and Izzy Enna contributed 19 digs. The Braves (24-9) were led by Erica Haslag's 13 kills; the Braves hit just .116 overall. TULANE 3, CALIFORNIA BAPTIST 1 (25-18, 25-15, 22-25, 25-15) New Orleans, LA -- Tulane held California Baptist to under 20 points in the three games it won, clinching a spot in Round 3 of the NIVC. The Green Wave (27-8) will play Valparaiso in the next round. Tulane's Dayna Kern finished with 14 kills, and Makala Heidelberg closed with 13 kills and 17 digs. Kaylie McHugh closed with 23 digs. California Baptist (20-11) got 11 kills from Yagoda Jedrzejczak; Natalie Zimmerer finished with 37 assists and 16 digs. PORTLAND 3, UTAH VALLEY 2 (25-19, 16-25, 29-27, 27-29, 19-17) Laramie, WY -- Portland fell behind Utah Valley 6-0 to start the fifth set, but fought back to tie it at 7-all and then wrapped up the match on kills from Liz Reich and Izzy Guzik. The Pilots (20-12), who are in their first postseason in program history, move to Round 3 against UNLV or Fresno State. Portland got 18 kills from Reghan Pukis; Reich had 17 kills and Guzik closed with 15 kills. Cali Thompson had 62 assists. The Wolverines (20-14) had 16 kills from the arm of Kristen Allred, and Makaila Jarema had 11 kills. Seven Merrill had 21 digs. UNLV 3, FRESNO STATE 2 (25-19, 16-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-7) Las Vegas, NV -- UNLV fell behind in the fifth set, 4-3, but closed with a 12-3 run to slip past Fresno State and into the next round of the NIVC. The Rebels (21-11) will play Portland in Round 3. They were led by Mariena Hayden's 18 kills and 19 digs, and Thea Sweder added 14 kills while Antonette Rolda closed with 23 assists. Hayden topped 100 aces on the season, which is only the third time a player has hit the century mark in aces for a season since rally scoring began in 2008. The Bulldogs (21-11) got 16 kills from Taylor Slover and Madelyn Halteman added 39 assists.  IOWA STATE 3, BRADLEY 0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-13)
Ames, IA -- Iowa State got 17 kills and 12 digs from Jess Schaben as the Cyclones moved by Bradley and into Round 3 of the NIVC. The Cyclones (18-13) will play North Texas in the next round. Piper Mauck had 32 assists, and Izzy Enna contributed 19 digs. The Braves (24-9) were led by Erica Haslag's 13 kills; the Braves hit just .116 overall.  CLEMSON 3, RADFORD 1 (25-18, 25-22, 26-28, 25-14)
Clemson, SC -- Clemson made the most of its host opportunity, downing Radford for its second sweep in two nights to advance to Round 3 of the NIVC. The Tigers (19-14) got 19 kills from Solei Thomas, with Brooke Bailey adding 18 kills. Gabby Easton had 41 assists, and Emily Curtis had 17 digs The Highlanders (22-7) got 12 kills from Mallory McKnight; Haley Kleespies chipped in with 42 assists.  VALPARAISO 3, MIAMI UNIV. (OH) 0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-18)
Oxford, OH -- Valparaiso swept past host Miami University as Katherine Carlson had 12 kills to guide the Crusaders into Round 3 of the NIVC. Valparaiso (27-10) got 30 assists from Brittany Anderson and 19 digs from Rylee Cookerly. The RedHawks (23-9) were led by the nine kills of Gaby Harper, who also had 12 digs. Abigail Huser added 16 digs.  NORTH TEXAS 3, WICHITA STATE 1 (25-19, 24-26, 25-14, 25-21)
at Denton, TX -- North Texas didn't let dropping a close second set become a distraction, riding a strong offense to slip past Wichita State in the second round of the NIVC. The Mean Green (19-16) got 18 kills, on just two errors, from Valerie Valerian, and Barbara Teakell added 15 kills. Jordyn Williams had 14 kills as them team hit .390 overall. Karley York had 59 assists The Shockers (14-18) were paced by the 17 kills of Megan Taflinger, and Tabitha Brown added 16 kills and 14 digs. Kora Kauling had 28 assists. |
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