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Volleyball finishes strong, beats Central

Volleyball finishes strong, beats Central

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Tabitha Blaser led four players with double-digit kills and the Simpson volleyball team recovered from a first set loss to beat Central 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22) on Wednesday night.

Blaser finished with 15 kills and 15 digs, Haley Danforth had 12 kills and MacKenzie McGraw and Kat Wetjen had 10 apiece as the Storm (14-3, 2-2 Iowa Conference) closed out Homecoming Week a perfect 2-0, snapping a two-game losing streak to Central in the process.

In a wild fourth set, Central used a 6-0 run to take a commanding 13-8 lead in a bid to force a fifth set. But Simpson responded with a run of its own behind the tough serving of Kira Klepel, getting the next five points to tie it up 13-13.

With the score tied 18-18, Simpson got three crucial points – one off a big kill by Wetjen – to take three-point lead it wouldn't surrender. Morgan Terpstra put the finishing touches on the win with an ace that skimmed the top of the net and landed in the middle of the Central defense.

Klepel finished with two of Simpson's seven aces to go along with seven digs. Katie Kieffer had 43 assists and tied a season high with four kills. Kim Rogers led the back row effort with 24 digs.

Nicole Ewoldt had 12 kills to lead the Dutch (6-17, 0-4), who had beaten Simpson in the regular season each of the past two seasons.

After losing the first set, Simpson came out firing in set two. Simpson used a 9-2 run midway through the set to take a 15-7 lead on a kill by Danforth, who committed just three errors in her 30 attacks. Simpson led 22-17 before Central rattled off four straight, narrowing the lead to 22-21. Blaser stopped the bleeding with a kill, then Wetjen chipped in before Terpstra buried the game-winner in the crucial set.

Simpson gets to enjoy a full week off before its next match, a road contest at Loras on Wednesday, Oct. 16. The Duhawks (8-11, 2-2) lost to Coe in three sets on Wednesday night.