PORTLAND – Northwest tamed Multnomah in three sets to remain perfect in Cascade Collegiate Conference action Saturday, 25-9, 25-14, 25-19.
 
Multnomah opened this weekend with a new look with first-year Coach Colton Naill.
 
"I was impressed with Multnomah's new system and how hard they played," remarked NU Head Coach Steve Bain. "They improved as the match progressed and were tough from the service line all evening."
 
Tatiana Ensz had 13 kills and two aces to lead the Eagles with 15 points while swinging at a .480 clip. Courteney Carr had 12 assists, with Ana Saelens setting up 10. Abi Broussard and Cristina Hegarty had four aces each.
 
Defensively, Hegarty collected 17 digs. Keann White had two solo blocks.
 
NU bounded out to a 9-2 lead in the first set and put things out of reach with an 8-0 run. Ensz finished off the set and a 4-0 run with a kill.
 
The Eagles used a 12-2 run to build a 22-10 lead in the second set, which Hannah Lord ended with a kill.
 
Northwest found itself down 16-13 in the final set before rallying for six unanswered points and a 19-17 edge.  Lord and Keann White had two kills each in the rally. The Eagles finished off the match on a 6-1 spree that included three kills by Ensz.
 
"Our ladies did a nice job of staying in the moment for the first two sets but then lost some of our edge in set three and made too many errors," said Bain. "Hopefully, we learned that staying in the moment is the same no matter who you play; and if we did, we can be better the next time we take the court."
 
The Eagles return to action Friday in their home opener, taking on Corban at 7 p.m. in the Kristi Brodin Pavilion.