PORTLAND – The Gonzaga volleyball team won the first of two matches on its road trip to Portland, besting the Pilots in four sets, 28-26, 25-18, 18-25, 25-20.

Gonzaga (6-11, 6-11 WCC) was led in kills by sophomore middle blocker Alyssa Hughes with 12 and senior outside hitters Sarah Penner and Chapin Gray with 11 each. Penner recorded another double-double, finishing with 17 digs as well. Sophomore setter Tia Andaya put up 43 assists on the match and senior defensive specialist Julia Talarico finished with 19 digs both leading the team.

As a team, GU finished with 54 kills off of 152 attempts with 16 errors to hit .250 for the match. The Bulldogs had 50 assists, 74 digs, and four service aces. Portland (2-13, 2-13 WCC) finished with 48 kills hitting .136 for the match with 45 assists, 75 digs, and six aces.

In the first set, a kill by Penner gave the Zags the early lead. The Bulldogs extended that lead to 11-4 after an ace from Zoe Thiros later in the set. The Pilots battled back to bring the match to a 16-16 tie after a kill from Portland's Chelsey Harmon. The rest of the set the score stayed tight until the Zags eventually pulled away with back-to-back kills by Gray and Penner to win the set 28-26.

Penner and redshirt senior Katelyn Oppio led the way for the Zags in the second set with five kills each with Andaya adding 11 assists. Early in the set, the Pilots held tight with GU, tying the score up at 8-8. Then the Zags took over, going on a 9-2 scoring run to stretch the lead to 17-10 with help from some Pilot errors. A kill from Oppio ended the second set at a score of 25-18.

The third set was back and forth early as neither team could grab any momentum. Eventually, the Pilots separated the score after a kill by Noelani Helm, giving UP a 14-9 advantage. The Bulldogs rallied with a couple kills by Hughes, but the Pilots maintained the lead the rest of the set and finished off the Zags with a kill by Jayde Harris to win the set 25-18.

In the final set, the score remained close early as an ace by the Pilots tied it up at 6-6. Then, a kill by Grace Ehler gave the Zags a 7-6 lead, and they never gave up the lead the rest of the way. As a team the Bulldogs combined for 15 kills in the fourth set with Hughes leading the way with five. Hughes ended the set and the match for the Zags with a kill to put the Pilots away and win the set 25-20.

"We were prepared, and stayed dialed in throughout," said Head Coach Diane Nelson. "Volleyball is messy, and our ability to refocus and capitalize on our strengths was key. Our middles made a huge impact."

Portland was led by Jayde Harris with 16 kills on 56 attempts hitting .125 on the afternoon. Kellie Hughes led the Pilots with 22 assists.

Gonzaga will finish up their season Sunday, March 28th at 12 p.m. inside the Chiles Center, facing the Pilots again in Portland. Up-to-date match time information is available at GoZags.com.