Multnomah captured its first win of the season Tuesday with a 3-1 win at Willamette as Patty Batoon, Miranda Halverson and Maile Kam combined for 44 kills.
MULTNOMAH 3, WILLAMETTE 1: Lions Outscratch Bearcats for First Victory of 2017 Season
PORTLAND, Ore. – Outside hitters Patty Batoon, Miranda Halverson and Maile Kam combined for 44 kills, powering the Multnomah University Lions to their first victory of the 2017 season, a closely-contested 3-1 road win (25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23) over the Willamette University Bearcats in a non-conference volleyball match Tuesday night here at Cone Field House.
Batoon paved the way for the Lions’ initial with 19 kills, while Halverson added 15 and Kam 10, including the spike that clinched the triumph for the visitors. Marissa Rhodes passed out 28 assists and Kayla Keane had 14. Rhodes also had four service aces. On defense, Sabrina DeJesus-Bair collected 22 digs, Kam 17 and Rhodes 12, while Madison Schuh contributed four block assists on the Lions’ total of seven team blocks. with nine kills while Halverson added eight and Maile Kam seven.
Lauren Stiles was the only Bearcat in double figures in kills with 15. Jaiden Mason and Kunani Tuttle split setting duties with 15 and 14 assists respectively. Mason led a quartet of Bearcats in double-digit digs with 18, while Emma Liband had nine blocks (three solo) among Willamette’s 12 team blocks.
In the opening set, Multnomah ran off six unanswered points to take an early 6-1 lead, but Willamette rallied and six times took one-point leads, the last at 13-12. The Lions took the lead for good on a Halverson kill at 14-13 and went up 22-16 on an ace by Halverson. The Bearcats fought back within a point at 23-22, but another Halverson winner and an ace by Rhodes secured the win.
Multnomah trailed by five at 13-8 in the second set but then outscored the host team 12-3 over the mid-portion of the set to go up 20-16. Batoon sparked the charge with five winners in that run, then added the set-clinching kill after the ‘Cats had closed within a point at 24-23.
The Lions appeared to be in control in the third set, building a 14-9 lead, but the Bearcats clawed their way back into it, taking the lead for good at 19-18 on a Jaiden Mason ace. The Lions were still within one at 21-20 before Lauren Stiles had three kills in the Bearcats’ 4-0 run that ended the set.
Multnomah overcame an early 4-0 deficit in set four to take a 15-8 lead on yet another Batoon kill, but Willamette knotted the score 16-16 and the game was tight the rest of the way. A Batoon kill broke a 23-23 tie, and Kam ended with a well-placed spike.
Quoting Coach Jenna Bouey: “We knew coming in that Willamette would be a scrappy team on defense, and they were! But I thought we did a great job on defense as well. DeJesus-Bair had another awesome night in the back row, and Kam and Rhodes also were awesome on the defensive end. The stats for Batoon don’t do her justice tonight – she was lights out at the net. A great win for our team."
Next: Multnomah (1-6) returns to Cascade Collegiate Conference competition Thursday with a 7:00 p.m. game at Walla Walla University, the first of three straight days of road action that includes Eastern Oregon University on Friday and the College of Idaho on Saturday … Willamette (1-4) plays four matches Friday-Saturday in the Nebraska Wesleyan University Tournament in Lincoln, Neb.