Volleyball falls in four sets to league-leading Dubuque

INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson College women's volleyball team swiped the first set from current American Rivers Conference leader, Dubuque, but the Spartans came back to win the match in four sets.

The match featured 24 tied scores and 10 lead changes. The Storm (5-15, 1-2 A-R-C) claimed the opening set 25-21 before the Spartans (15-5, 3-0 A-R-C) leveled things at one win apiece with a 25-20 victory in set two. Dubuque then posted back-to-back 25-19 set wins for the 3-1 victory.

SET SUMMARY

• The Storm came out of the gates strong, hitting .205 in the opening set with 15 kills. The two teams started out point-for-point but Simpson distanced itself with a 6-1 run for a 17-9 lead. The Spartans clawed back into it and even claimed a 20-19 edge, but the Storm managed to go back in front and closed it out via a Blayne Koster kill and Emily Williams ace.
• Dubuque held the advantage for most of set two despite four blocks by the home team. Jada Schmidt and Peyton Mitchell teamed up for the fourth block to tie the set at 13-13, but the Spartans responded with a 5-1 run and led by at least three the rest of the way.
• Early kills by Schmidt and Koster propelled Simpson to a 9-3 lead in the third set, but the Spartans used three scoring runs of at least four points to go ahead by five, 18-13. Simpson pulled within three, 22-19, to force a Dubuque timeout, but couldn't get any closer.
• Dubuque broke a 5-5 tie in the fourth frame with six unanswered points, but Simpson came all the way back to lead 16-15. Williams had three kills, an ace and a block assist to fuel the comeback effort. However, the Spartans rattled off five straight points out of their timeout and went on to win the match.

STORM LEADERS

• Blayne Koster - 11 kills, 6 digs
• Emily Williams - 11 kills, 10 digs, 3 blocks, 3 aces
• Jada Schmidt - 9 kills, 9 digs
• Peyton Mitchell - 6 kills, 4 blocks
• Morgan DenBeste - 33 assists, 14 digs, 3 blocks
• Iman Ghalibaf - 17 digs

UP NEXT
Simpson closes out its three-game home stretch on Wednesday night against Central. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. inside Cowles Fieldhouse.