Volleyball upends William Penn

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Tabitha Blaser had a match-high 17 kills and the Simpson volleyball team came from behind to win the deciding fourth set in a 3-1 (27-25, 17-25, 25-18, 25-21) win over William Penn on Monday.

The Storm (13-3) used tough serving and a balanced offensive attack to avenge a pair of losses to the NAIA Statesmen (12-17) a year ago.

Blaser tacked on 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the season and led three Simpson players with double-digit kills. MacKenzie McGraw had 11 with a team-best .214 hitting percentage and Kat Wetjen added 10.

Simpson trailed 17-12 in the fourth set before clawing back to a 20-20 tie. McGraw broke the tie, then a pair of Statesmen errors gave Simpson a 23-20 cushion. Another kill by McGraw gave Simpson a 24-21 lead before Haley Danforth closed it out with an emphatic spike from the left side.

Danforth finished with eight kills and middle hitter Morgan Terpstra chipped in five. Katie Kieffer handed out 47 assists and Kim Rogers led the defensive effort with 15 digs to go along with a team-high four service aces.

Audrey Schuttler and Torey Buenger had two aces apiece as Simpson tallied 11 on the night, allowing just four.

Shawni Wills led William Penn with 13 kills and Dayna Sammons had five blocks.

Simpson faces an important Iowa Conference test on Wednesday when it hosts Central. The Dutch (6-16, 0-3 Iowa Conference) are in search of their first conference win while the Storm (1-2 Iowa Conference) look to stay in the league race.