Storm fall to Central in IIAC opener

INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Simpson volleyball team got big nights from three players on the front line but couldn't finish off a resilient Central squad, losing in four sets (28-26, 18-25, 25-21, 25-20) Tuesday night.

Jacqueline Luth, Hannah Lester and Ty Duve combined for 44 of Simpson's 50 kills in the Iowa Conference opener. The Storm (4-5, 0-1) led in all four sets but could only come away with the set two win.

Simpson led by six at one point in the crucial first set and served for set point three times before Central came back to win. The fourth and final set was tied 18-all before the Dutch outscored Simpson 7-2 down the stretch.

The Dutch (3-6, 1-0) got 14 kills from Kylie Gerstein and 11 from Mollie Mason. Mason hit .556 with just one error, leading Central to a .254 team attack percentage.

Luth got a lot of swings for the Storm, tallying a match-high 18 kills in 54 attempts. Lester finished with 15 kills and Duve hit an efficient .400 with 11 kills. Alyssa Mathews finished with 43 assists, Kayla Aronow had 17 digs and Katrina Hartman had five blocks.

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Simpson gets a day off before defending the home court again as William Penn comes to town Thursday, Sept. 15. The Statesmen (3-11) lost to Central Methodist in their Heart of America Conference opener Tuesday.