Madison Hawtrey
Madison Hawtrey

Storm blank Iowa Wesleyan, Smith ties win record

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Madison Hawtrey had 12 kills to lead three players in double figures and Simpson beat Iowa Wesleyan 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-21) on Thursday, giving head coach Lana Smith a milestone win.

Morgan Taylor (11 kills, 12 digs), Alyssa Mathews (37 assists, 13 digs) and Hawtrey (12 kills, 12 digs) all recorded double-doubles for the Storm (6-10), who improved to 3-0 at Cowles Fieldhouse this season. Ty Duve added 10 kills at a .316 clip and Hannah Lester chipped in with nine kills. Ariana Martinez led the way with 14 digs.

The win is the 332nd for Smith, tying her for the most in school history with her predecessor, the late Shelley (Scott) O'Meara. Smith is 332-316 in 19-plus years with the Storm.

How it Happened

First Set — Simpson started slowly in the opening set and trailed by as many as five during the set. Iowa Wesleyan led 21-18 before the Storm rattled off seven straight points to win the set. Duve began the rally with a kill and Lester buried three-straight kills to close the set.

Second Set — The set was deadlocked 10-10 when Hawtrey took the serve and helped the Storm score seven unanswered points to take control. Duve had three kills during the rally and Simpson outscored Iowa Wesleyan 15-6 to close the crucial second set.

Third Set — Simpson got out to a slow start again, allowing the Tigers to build a 13-10 lead before battling back to an 18-18 tie. Mathews tallied the go-ahead kill and Simpson never looked back. The Storm scored four of the final five points, getting a kill from Mathews to close out the win.

Notes

• Simpson beat Iowa Wesleyan for the 14th consecutive match, the last five of which have been sweeps
• The Storm posted a .258 attack percentage, their second-highest of the season
Ty Duve has had the hot hand as of late, accumulating 21 kills and a .372 attack percentage over the last two matches

Up Next

Simpson is off this weekend, returning to American Rivers Conference play Tuesday, Sept. 25 at Buena Vista.