PORTLAND, Ore. – The Multnomah University volleyball team executed a dominating performance on Tuesday night in Jim Skagen Court as they finished off New Hope Christian College in three straight sets (25-17, 25-11, 25-22) for their first sweep of the season.
 
Led by sophomore outside hitter Patty Batoon, the Lions put together their best offensive performance as members of the NAIA hitting .267, including a .333 in the opening set.
 
The Lions secured their second non-conference win of the season as they move to 2-10 overall.
 
How it Happened: MU opened up the first set of the night on a six-point run capped off by three kills from Batoon. In three other occasions, the Lions put together three consecutive points including a kill by freshman Miranda Halverson giving them their largest lead of the set, 20-13. A final kill by Batoon earned MU the set by a score of 25-17.
 
In what would be their best set of the year to date, the Lions began set two earning nine consecutive points which included three aces by freshman setter Marissa Rhodes. The Deacons continued to struggled as Multnomah went on a 10-4 run to take a commanding 19-4 advantage.
 
New Hope had a little fight left in set three taking their first lead of the night 10-9. Two more key runs by the Lions kept the sweep alive ending the set on a 10-1 rung before a kill by Halverson gave first year coach Jenna Bouey her first win at home.
 
By the Numbers: Batoon tallied a match high 13 kills on 30 attempts while Rhodes notched 24 assists as she helped four Lions earn four kills or more. Junior defensive specialist Miranda Schmillen and Halverson each had eight digs and sophomore outsider Kayti Nelson and freshman outsier Lauren Starts added four and three kills respectively.
 
As a team, the Lions kept the Beacons to the lowest attack percentage for any opponent this season at .117 while also tallying a school single match record with 16 aces.
 
From the Coach: "Batoon did a great job finding ways to put the ball down. Nelson and Halverson also had a few key kills for us tonight," said head coach Jenna Bouey, "We had a great serving night with 16 aces and Rhodes had a few excellent serving runs as did Sigurdson. Bowling came and served well and played great defense, it feels great to get a win at home"
 
Coming up Next: The Lions start right back up on Wednesday night as they play another non-conference match at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore.