2019 Volleyball

Kind of cool, UP and PSU will play a home-and-home series this coming season:

Thursday 9/19 @ 7pm UP @ PSU
Saturday 9/21 @ 1pm PSU @ UP

The 2019 schedule has not yet been released...

Here's the 2019 home schedule:

9/6 @ 12pm Idaho
9/6 @ 7pm WSU
9/7 @ 1pm Utah St.
9/21 @ 12pm PSU
9/26 @ 7pm USD
9/28 @ 12pm BYU
10/10 @ 7pm UOP
10/12 @ 12pm SMC
10/26 @ 7pm GU
10/31 @ 7pm LMU
11/2 @ 12pm PU
11/14 @ 7pm SCU
11/16 @ 12pm USF

You can see the entire schedule here:  https://portlandpilots.com/schedule.aspx?path=wvball

The Pilots are expected to tie for 6th place in the WCC this season, and zero Pilots were selected as one of the preseason top-16 players.

2019 WCC Preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll
Team (First Place Vote) and points:

1. BYU (9) 81
2. San Diego (1) 71
3. Pepperdine 66
4. LMU 58
5. Saint Mary’s 42
T-6. Pacific 33
T-6. Portland 33
8. Gonzaga 32
9. Santa Clara 18
10. San Francisco 16

https://wccsports.com/news/2019/8/12/womens-volleyball-wcc-announces-2019-volleyball-preseason-poll-and-all-wcc-team.aspx

The Pilot volleyball team improved their record to 7-2 this weekend with a 3-match sweep of the New Mexico State tournament. This included a 3-0 victory over previously undefeated New Mexico State in a match that included 12 Pilot aces.

Watched the Portland State game the other night... The coach seemed more focused on questioning the referees than coaching the team...

Also, any idea why Shayla wasn't in the match?

The Pilots won a nail-biter at the Chiles Center tonight against Pacific. First two matches went to 23-23 then 25-23, with the Pilots winning the first and the Tigers winning the second. Pilots would have been down 0-2, except that the Tigers gifted them lots of service-error points in the first set.

Pilots won the third set handily--and the Tigers returned the favor in the fourth. In the fifth set, the Pilots got down (9-6, if I recall) but then Emma Scanlan rattled off 5 or 6 service winners, and the Pilots hung on for a 15-13 win.

One of the Pilots' weaknesses in recent years has been blocking, and they were true to form in that regard in the first two sets, being out-blocked noticeably. In the last three sets, however, they managed quite a few blocks, so that by the end of the match, the teams were nearly even in this regard.

Liz Reich contributed lots of kills, and freshman Jayde Harris had a good match with a solid serving performance and a number of kills. Claire Forrest had some nice kills at opportune times.

Overall, play from both teams was on the sloppy side, with more than the usual number of unforced errors. The match could easily have gone either way, but this time it was in our favor.

The team needs to improve a lot to get any consideration for a post-season tournament, like the NIVC last year. I haven't seen improvement and I fear simply going with the status quo in all areas is not a recipe for improvement. Other teams see films and are making adjustments and Portland must do the same.

Volleyball head coach Jeff Baxter will not return to program!

Kyle Garcia, the Sports editor for The Beacon, writes:

The University of Portland women’s volleyball head coach Jeff Baxter will not return to the program, according to UP Vice President of Athletics Scott Leykam. Baxter will be replaced by interim coaches Megan Burton and Dylan Hamilton for the remainder of the 2019 season.

"We have full confidence in Megan and Dylan and their ability to provide the best student-athlete experience possible for our student-athletes," Leykam said in a press release. "We will immediately start conversations regarding the best option for the leadership of the program going forward."

Baxter, who was not present at the recent 3-1 loss against San Francisco on Saturday, was promoted as head coach of the program last season, leading the Pilots to a 20-13 record and their first-ever postseason appearance at the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). This year the Pilots are 11-15 with a 3-12 record in conference play and have three games remaining.

https://www.upbeacon.com/article/2019/11/jeff-baxter-will-not-return-pilot-volleyball

Whoa. Three points about the public announcement:

1. To my knowledge it has never been made on the website, though admittedly I could have missed it.
2. There is absolutely no indication that Coach Baxter should be thanked for his efforts on behalf of the Pilots,at least so far.
3. The abruptness of the announcement is relatively unique at least with regard to a head coach.

What happened?

Is there likely to be a negative effect on recruiting? I know we had received an oral commitment from Corvallis star, outside hitter Ryann Gregg, but there is no announcement of her signing . . .are we losing her as a recruit?