Simpson advances to semfinals, falls to Loras at IIAC Tourney

DUBUQUE - Fourth-seeded Simpson beat fifth-seeded Central in the first round of the Iowa Conference Tournament before bowing out to top-seeded Loras on Friday night.

Simpson beat Central 3-0 in the first round (25-18, 30-28, 25-22) before Loras knocked Simpson out of the tournament (19-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-18)

In the first match of the night, the Storm (17-17) beat rival Central for the second time in 2010. The first match took five sets, but Simpson needed only three to knock the Dutch (20-13, 5-3 IIAC) this time around. Amy Schuster and Megan Dunlavy had 12 kills apiece while Dunlavy led the way with a .286 hitting percentage.

Taylor Helton added seven kills and led the team with 14 digs. Libero Monica Driscoll had 13 digs and setter Ashley Padget handed out a game-high 34 assists.

Against the Duhawks (26-8, 7-1 IIAC), four players recorded double-digit kills, led by Schuster with 16. Dunlavy, Helton and McKaylie Croghan had 12 kills each and Helton led the way with 16 digs. Padget again led the team with 46 assists.