PORTLAND, Ore. – The Multnomah University volleyball team continues their eight-match road series tonight as they face off against NCAA DIII Linfield College before returning to Cascade Collegiate Conference play on Friday and Saturday at Evergreen State and Northwest.
 
Tuesday proved to be a tough night for the Lions (3-2, 0-1 CCC), dropping their first CCC match of the season to Warner Pacific in three sets. After holding a commanding lead in the first set, MU's offense struggled as the Knights held them to their second lowest attacking percentage of the year at .156.
 
Multnomah faced only one NCAA DIII opponent last year in Pacific University, a match they lost on the road. Evergreen State and Northwest swept the series meetings in 2015, but the Lions kept it close in the final match of the year against Evergreen, losing 19-25, 15-25 and 20-25.
 
By the Numbers: The Lions defense has been strong up this point in the season, holding their opponents to an attack percentage of .115, the lowest in the conference. MU has also tallied 27 blocks in the first five matches.
 
Offensively, MU was worked up a .189 attacking percentage, the fifth highest in the CCC, but have struggled finishing matches, earning an average of only 11.06 kills per set.
 
Marissa Rhodes is in her second year as the main setter, picking up right where she left off a season ago. Rhodes has tallied a team high 71 assists, reaching double-digits in all five games so far.
 
Freshmen Maile Kam, Kayla Keane and Jenna Horton didn't take long to make a splash in the rotation during their first season. Kam leads the Lions in kills with 44 while Keane is second in assists with 62 and Horton ranks at the top in digs with 59.

From the Coach: "We're only getting started but we hae great expectations for the match tonight at Linfield and our next conference matches this weekend," said head coach Jenna Bouey. "We are looking forward to seeing these girls play their best volleyball." 
 
Upcoming Matches:
Multnomah vs. Linfield: Thursday, Sept. 1 @ 7 p.m. – Live Stats/Video
About Linfield:
-Tonight will be Linfield's first match of the season.
-Members of the Northwest Conference, Linfield finished 10-15 overall, 7-9 in conference play last year.
-The Wildcats finished the 2015 campaign with a home record of 5-4.
-Setter Jamie Talbo led the Wildcats offense last year, tallying 418 assists.
-This will be the first time in recent history, MU will play Linfield.
 
Multnomah vs. Evergreen: Friday, Sept. 2 @ 7 p.m. – Live Stats/Video
About Evergreen:
-Evergreen finished last year in ninth place in the CCC with a 5-20 overall record.
-The Geoducks are picked to finish in that same spot, tallying 36 points in the Preseason Coaches' Poll
-Evergreen swept the Lions in both matches in 2015, on their way to five conference wins.
-The Geoducks currently hold a 1-5 record on the year, with their win coming in five sets against University of Montana-Western
 
Multnomah vs. Northwest: Saturday, Sept. 3 @ 5 p.m. – Live Stats/Video
About Northwest:
-The Eagles are looking to be one of the top teams in 2016, ranking fourth in the Preseason Coaches' Poll, collecting one first-place vote
-Northwest finished last year with a 20-10 overall record, going 14-6 in conference
-Northwest has earned a 3-2 record so far this season, capturing wins against Frontier Conference members Montana State-Northern, University of Great Falls as well as Dickinson State.