PORTLAND – Northwest launched Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball action Friday with a 3-1 win at Multnomah.
 
The Eagles stumbled early but righted the ship for a 16-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-19 victory.
 
"Multnomah was ready to play and brought energy that we simply couldn't match in the first set," said NU Head Coach Steven Bain. "As well, they were much better in the serve and pass phase, which allowed them to score points and keep us off balance. We made an adjustment in the second set that seemed to stabilize our offense and we also upgraded our own serve and pass to match theirs. Fortunately, we did enough to take control and close out the match in the fourth set."
 
Northwest had a negative attack percentage in the opening set and finished at .104 for the match, but the defense was strong, accounting for eight blocks.
 
The Eagles used a pair of 5-0 runs in the second set to even the match. Caitlyn James fueled the first run with a pair of aces. Reece Denney ended the set with a kill.
 
NU scored the first four points of the second set and used a 6-1 run to construct an 18-7 lead.
 
Karste Wright had a kill, and Delaney Sparks added a block in a 5-0 NU run to give the Eagles a 15-9 lead in the final set. Abi Broussard finished the match with a kill.
 
Broussard led NU with 14 points on 12 kills and a pair of aces. Denney added eight kills, four aces, and a block. Anna Saelens led NU with 11 assists. Broussard had a .417 attack percentage.
 
Kelsey Moore racked up 31 digs and Morgan Harter added 13. 
 
Northwest finishes up its Portland trip with a 5 p.m. contest on Saturday at Warner Pacific.