Storm turn away Iowa Wesleyan, win 3-0

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Powered by a balanced offensive attack and a solid defensive effort, the Simpson volleyball team swept Iowa Wesleyan 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 26-24) in the home opener on Wednesday night.

Tabitha Blaser paced Simpson with 10 kills and hit .292, the defense held Iowa Wesleyan to just 15 kills on the night and the Storm (4-0) remained undefeated on the season.

Kat Wetjen added nine kills and Haley Danforth had eight to lead Simpson's attack. Katie Kieffer ended up with 34 assists, Kim Rogers had 26 digs and Audrey Schuttler placed four service aces. Morgan Terpstra and Danforth created problems at the net for Iowa Wesleyan, as the duo tallied four and three blocks, respectively.

Dakota Flesner had five kills to lead the Tigers (1-5), who lost their fourth match in a row.

After cruising through the first two sets, Simpson was in danger of losing the third after falling behind 21-18. Simpson rallied to tie things up at 24-24 before an attack attempt by Danforth was ruled out of bounds. A close call, the official reversed the ruling by the linesman, resulting in a kill for Danforth and set point for Simpson.

Rogers followed up with an ace as Simpson used the 8-3 rally to take the set and the match.

The Storm are off until the weekend of Sept. 13-14 when they travel to the Gustavus Adolphus Invitational in St. Peter, Minn.