PORTLAND, Ore. – The Multnomah University volleyball team extended their win streak to three games in historic fashion, registering the program's first ever win over Warner Pacific (25-17, 25-22, 15-25, and 25-19) in four sets on Tuesday night on Jim Skagen Court.
 
The Lions (8-11, 3-9 CCC) avenged a three set loss to Warner Pacific (7-7, 6-6 CCC) in the opening match of Cascade Conference play back in August.
 
"I cannot say enough great things about the match tonight and how well the girls played. It truly was a team effort tonight," said head coach Jenna Bouey.
 
MU jumped ahead early to start the opening set, reaching a 7-2 lead. The Lions stretched the lead to 21-10 before a kill and a WPC error gave the set to Multnomah 25-17.
 
Behind a career high 39 assists from sophomore Marissa Rhodes, freshman Maile Kam tallied a match high 18 kills while sophomore Miranda Halverson added 10 kills and junior Patty Batoon finished with nine kills.
 
Set two featured both teams battling back and forth throughout the set, as the Knights tied the set 15-15 after four straight points. The Lions used a crucial 6-2 run to pull away, taking a 2-0 advantage on the night.
 
Kealia Rosa orchestrated Warner's offense, totaling 32 assists as Janessa Mast earned 16 kills for the Knights.
 
Determined to stay alive in the match, Warner Pacific jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the third set. The Knights held MU to their lowest hitting percentage of the night at .057 as they registered 12 kills to avoid a sweep.
 
"Batoon was huge for us in the front row, placing her hits well and putting up a good block," continued Bouey, "Kam had one of her best nights hitting as well and Rhodes was stellar on defense and at the net."
 
Batoon accounted for five blocks in the match while five different Lions registered double digit digs, led by senior Kiana Miller with 24 digs and junior Rachel Woodcock with 15 digs.
 
Set four continued to be a battle with both teams as they exchanged points to a 17-17 tie. The Lions finally took control, closing out the final set on an 8-2 run to earn their third conference win over the season, the most by any MU program since joining the conference last year.
 
"Miller was amazing in the back row on defense along with Woodcock. It is a great day to be a Lion."
 
Multnomah continues CCC action this weekend as they travel to Oregon Tech on Friday and Southern Oregon on Saturday.