Simpson volleyball upsets Dubuque on the road in opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dubuque (0-1,0-1 American Rivers) | 25 | 16 | 21 | 25 | 13 | 2 |
|
Simpson (1-0,1-0 American Rivers) | 19 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 15 | 3 |
DUBUQUE, Iowa -- In Kekailoa Palea's head coaching debut for the Simpson College volleyball team, he tallied his first career win after the Storm won 3-2 at Dubuque on Saturday to upset the Spartans.
The Storm (1-0, 1-0 A-R-C) came into the contest projected to finish ninth in the American Rivers Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, while Dubuque (0-1, 0-1) was picked to tally first after winning the league tournament in 2019.
Simpson started on a roll by collecting a quick 4-2 advantage after competing in a match for the first time since Nov. 2, 2019. The Spartans powered back to knot the set and eventually won, 25-19. Sophomore Niya Harris recorded five kills during the opening set and classmate Marissa Salber dished out seven assists.
The second set was all the Storm after jumping out to a 13-5 lead. Junior Lexie Parks had three-straight kills for the offense near the end of the frame and senior Kamryn Juni put the exclamation point on the set with a kill to end it at 25-16.
In the third set, Simpson had to play catch up after falling down 10-5. The momentum switched after the Storm recorded three-straight points that turned into a 13-3 run that gave Simpson an 18-13 tilt. The hosts made a run to knot the game at 18-18 and then at 19-19, but the Storm stayed tough and closed the set with four kills to win 25-21.
Dubuque wasted no time in the fourth set by surging out to a 14-2 advantage. The Spartans would go on to claim the set 25-15 and knot the match at 2-2 going into the fifth.
Parks started the final frame with back-to-back kills, while Salber added one from her setter spot to put the set at 4-1. Simpson would go on to claim the set and the match by always having the lead.
The duo of Parks and Harris produced 29 of the team's 50 kills, while Parks had 16. Salber had a career-high 40 assists, while senior Ariana Martinez recorded 24 digs.
Up Next
Central (0-0, 0-0 A-R-C) comes to Indianola on Tuesday for a match that begins at 7:30 p.m. inside Cowles Fieldhouse.
