Simpson defeats undefeated Nebraska Wesleyan

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Junior Jessica Jacobs recorded 22 kills and senior Megan LeMay hit .846 to help Simpson College volleyball hand Nebraska Wesleyan its first loss of the season in a 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-14, 25-14) victory on Wednesday.

The Storm (3-2, 1-0 A-R-C) won their second straight American Rivers Conference opener under head coach Kekailoa Palea. This is the first time Simpson has won the league opener in back-to-back seasons since 2012-13.

As a unit, Simpson ended with a .306 hitting clip, the program's best since clubbing a .330 against Principia on Sept. 27, 2019. The Prairie Wolves (6-1, 0-1 A-R-C) ended with a .128 hitting percentage.

The first set opened with a 7-3 run by the Storm before the visitors knotted the set at 7-7. Both teams held firm before Simpson tallied a four-point cushion at 21-17. A couple kills by Jacobs down the stretch lifted the squad to the opening set win.

The second set saw 11 ties and four lead changes as Nebraska Wesleyan came out on top by hitting .342 for its best output of the match. The Prairie Wolves executed an 8-0 run to cap off the set at 25-21.

Set three was all Simpson after an initial 1-1 tie. LeMay ended with six kills on seven attempts in the frame. The fourth set went the same way with the offense hitting .538 and ended the contest on a 7-1 spurt. Senior Lexie Parks and Jacobs both had five kills in the frame.

Parks finished with 15 kills in her first match this season. Junior Marissa Salber dished out 54 assists for a new career high.

On the defensive side, sophomore Iman Ghalibaf recorded 22 digs and classmate Rachel Hardwick had 13.

Up Next
The Storm return to action this weekend in the Wisconsin-La Crosse Invitational. Simpson takes on the host at 3 p.m. on Friday before ending the day with a 7 p.m. bout against Wisconsin-Superior.