KIRKLAND – Northwest begins Cascade Collegiate Conference action this weekend with a trip to Portland where they will face Multnomah on Friday and Warner Pacific on Saturday.
The Eagles come into the contest at 4-4 after splitting every day of both of their preseason tournaments. This will be the season opener for both Multnomah and Warner Pacific, though both have played four non-counting matches.
The Eagles are 12-0 all time against Multnomah and swept the series last year, 3-1 at home and 3-0 in Portland. NU is 27-7 against the Knights after sweeping the series last year, 3-0 at home and 3-1 in Portland.
Northwest went 2-2 in the Summer Slam last weekend. The Eagles went 1-1 on both days. NU beat Saint Katherine, 3-1, and lost to Dordt, 3-2, on Friday. NU fell to Benedictine-Mesa in four sets on Saturday before ending the trip with a 3-1 win over host Hope International.
Abigail Broussard leads the Cascade Collegiate Conference with kills (106) and hitting percentage (.332).
Kelsey Moore leads the Cascade Collegiate Conference in both total digs (208) and digs per set (6.12). Moore's 208 digs rank second in the NAIA. She is ninth in digs per set. As a team, Northwest is fourth in the NAIA with 585 digs this season.
Four Eagles are in the top seven of the Cascade Collegiate Conference in total aces, led by league-leader Broussard with 17. Moore is second with 16,
Allie Flynn is third at 12, and
Reece Denney is seventh at 11. NU is sixth in the NAIA in total aces.
Multnomah had a 5-18 season in 2021 and returns Danae Stokes, who led the team with 2.66 kills per set last season. Also returning is Rachel Bailey, who led the team with 7.12 assists per set last year.
Warner Pacific limped to a 2-23 record last season. Tevlin Britten, who was second last year with 2.1 points per set, is the top returning player.
