Volleyball falls to Trine in three

DECATUR, Ill. -- The Simpson College volleyball team was defeated by Trine University in their first match at the Millikin 5 State Classic. The Thunder used a pair of 25-19 victories around a 25-20 win to hand the Storm the Friday evening loss.

The Storm (6-8) started the match strong with a .318 hitting clip in the first set thanks to 11 kills and just four errors in 22 swings. A kill by Marissa Salber pulled Simpson within one, 15-14, before the Thunder (14-12) created some breathing room with four unanswered points and later sealed the opening-set victory with back-to-back aces.

Simpson looked to be in prime position to even the match in the second set when the Storm got out in front 13-8 following a kill by Courtney Paxton. Another winner by the freshman saw Simpson take a 19-15 lead, but things quickly fell apart for the Storm as Trine would go on to score 10 of the final 11 points.

In the third and final set, the Thunder broke an early 6-all tie and were able to maintain the lead the rest of the way to secure the sweep.

Jessica Jacobs tallied six kills in the match to tie Trine's Jocelynn Nicholls and Jacqueline Baughman for the game-high mark. On defense, Salber led the team with nine digs while Iman Ghalibaf contributed six.

Up Next
The Storm continue action at the Millikin Invite tomorrow with a pair of matches against Westminster (Mo.) and Albion at 1 and 3 p.m., respectively.