By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Multnomah University won the first two sets, then held off Willamette University to claim a 3-1 victory over the Bearcats in a non-conference women's volleyball match at Cone Field House on Tuesday, Sept. 5. The Lions won 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23. Multnomah, which competes in the NAIA and the Cascade Collegiate Conference, improved to 1-6 on the season. Willamette, which competes in NCAA Division III and is a member of the Northwest Conference, dropped to 1-3.

Lauren Stiles (So., OH, Altadena, CA/Flintridge Preparatory School) led Willamette with 15 kills and achieved a .371 hitting percentage to lead all players with at least 10 attacks. Stiles also recorded 16 digs. Jaiden Mason (Fr., S/OPP, Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian School) finished with eight kills, 18 digs, 15 assists and two blocks for the Bearcats.

Joining Mason and Stiles with double-digit totals for digs were Kendall Fox (So., OH, Dupont, WA/Steilacoom HS) and Elena Vasquez (Fr., DS/OH, Kingston, WA/North Kitsap HS). Fox stopped 14 attacks, while Vasquez earned 11 digs. Emma Liband (Sr., MH, Sandpoint, ID/Sandpoint HS) provided a match-high nine total blocks on three block solos and six block assists. Jennifer Lane (So., MH/OH, Salinas, CA/Notre Dame HS) was credited with five block assists.

Patty Batoon of Multnomah registered a match-high 19 kills. Miranda Halverson amassed 15 kills and a .276 hitting percentage for the Lions, while Maile Kim provided 10 kills and 17 digs. Sabrina DeJesus-Bair led both teams with 22 digs. Marissa Rhodes supplied the Lions with 28 assists and 12 digs. Madison Shuh led Multnomah with four block assists.

Multnomah surged out to a 6-1 lead in the first set. Willamette rallied for an 8-7 advantage on a service ace by Mason, but the Lions tallied the next point and the teams were tied six times from 8-8 to 13-13. Multnomah gained an edge by adding the next two points for a 15-13 lead. The first point was earned on a kill by Halverson and the second was scored on a kill by Rhodes.

Willamette won the next rally to pull within a single point, before Multnomah went on a 7-2 run for a 22-16 lead. The Bearcats battled to within 22-20 on a combo block by Lane and Stiles. A bit later, WU cut the margin to 23-22 on a service ace by Stiles. The Lions closed out the set with a kill from Halverson and a service ace by Rhodes.

In the second set, the Bearcats went on a 4-0 run to take a 13-8 lead. The Lions answered with four consecutive points to get within 13-12. WU then added a kill by Fox, but Multnomah scored on eight of the next 10 rallies, including three kills by Batoon, to claim a 20-16 lead. Willamette narrowed the margin to one point three times at 22-21, 23-22 and 24-23, but couldn't tie the score. Jo Stensaas (Jr., MH/OPP, Weed, CA/Weed HS) provided the kill that got WU within 24-23, but Multnomah followed with a kill by Batoon to win the set.

"It was a pretty frustrating match," Willamette Head Coach Tom Shoji said. "We couldn't get anything going in the first two sets and that stayed in our mindset the rest of the night. We need to play within ourselves better. We are a young team learning how to deal with a little adversity. That's hard to do when you lose a little confidence."

Willamette overcame a 14-9 deficit in the third set to win 25-20. The Bearcats began the comeback with a 5-1 run, including kills by Stiles and Lane, to reduce the deficit to 15-14. Eventually, the Bearcats moved in front 19-18 on a service ace from Mason, and Fox tacked on a kill for a two-point cushion. A Willamette attacking error nudged Multnomah within a point, before  the teams exchanged the next two rallies, leaving WU in front 21-20.

Stiles added back-to-back kills to start a set-ending 4-0 run by Willamette. Lane pounded down an attack to give the Bearcats a 24-20 lead, before Stiles completed the set with her third kill in four rallies.

Multnomah built leads of 13-7 and 16-10 in the fourth set only to see the Bearcats go on a 6-0 run for a 16-16 tie. A bit later, following three more ties, Willamette moved in front 20-19 on a service ace by Vasquez.

An attacking error by Halverson increased WU's margin to 22-20. The Lions answered with three points in a row for a 23-22 advantage. Fox registered a kill for the Bearcats to tie the score. Multnomah used a kill by Batoon and a kill by Kam to win the set 25-23.

The Lions achieved 57 kills and hit .142 during the match, while Willamette pounded out 41 kills and hit .132. Each team hit well in the fourth set, with WU at .235 and MU at .225. Multnomah finished the match with an 80-79 lead in digs. WU recorded 12.0 team total blocks and the Lions earned 7.0 team total blocks.

Willamette will play its next four games at the Nebraska Wesleyan Tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Friday, Sept. 8 and Saturday, Sept. 9. The Bearcats will open the tournament against Simpson College (Iowa) on Friday at 5:30 p.m. (CDT)/3:30 p.m. (PDT). Willamette also will take on Buena Vista University, University of Wisconsin-Platteville and host Nebraska Wesleyan University during the tournament.