Storm pick up first victory of season in Missouri

FULTON, Mo. – The Simpson College men's volleyball team bounced back from a 3-0 loss to Westminster in dominant fashion, securing its first win of the season with a commanding sweep over Maranatha Baptist.

Against Maranatha Baptist (0-15), the Storm (1-7) showed their skills, being led by Ignacio Aguado Herranz with 11 kills. Sebastian Rivera led the team with 11 digs, and Hector Lopez Navarro put up an astounding 22 assists.

In Simpson's first match of the day, the Storm were led by outside hitter Ignacio Aguado Herranz with his eight kills. Hector Lopez Navarro led the team in assists with 10 and Spencer Krantz led the team in digs with seven.

HOW IT HAPPENED (AGAINST WESTMINSTER)

• The Storm came out to a slow start in the first set, going down 6-0 early in the match. Simpson got the ball back on a service error by Westminster (13-12), and scored on kills by Herranz and Potratz in following points. The Storm struggled to flip the first set in their favor and fell 25-9.
• The second set began similarly with the Storm going down 5-0. In this set, the Storm fought back to a near tie match with a kill by Herrranz. Westminster went on another 5-0 run to put the Storm down 13-8 before back-to-back kills by Sebastian Rivera swung the momentum back to Simpson. The Storm continued trailing Westminster at 19-14, but two service aces from Anthony Potratz kept Simpson in the match. Two late kills by Herranz weren't enough and the Storm fell in set two 25-20.
• Early in the third set, the Storm went down 10-5, but a kill by Cody Durbin cut off the Westminster momentum. Three straight points for Simpson brought the score back within four points at 14-10, but Westminster responded with a 5-0 run. Despite a late fight from the Storm, they fell in set three 25-18.

HOW IT HAPPENED (AGAINST MARANATHA BAPTIST)

• The Storm opened the first set on a 3-0 run with an ace by Anthony Potratz. In the mid-set, the Storm took advantage of a 4-0 run. Maranatha crept back in to bring the score to 11-10 in favor of the Storm, but Simpson pulled away with an 8-0 run to finish the set 25-17, marked by two kills from Sebastian Rivera.
• In set two, the match stayed close in the beginning. A series of small runs by the Storm put them up 16-8 halfway through the set with an ace by Potratz and a kill by Herranz. A block by Potratz closed set two 25-15 in favor of the Storm.
• The Storm jumped on set three with an early 7-4 win with Kills by Daniel Garcia and Ignacio Aguado Herranz. The Storm went down 10-11 but responded with a 4-0 run to hold the lead. A six-point run at the end of the set put Simpson up 23-13, and a kill by Sebastian Rivera closed the set, and the match, 25-15.

STANDOUTS (AGAINST WESTMINSTER)

• Ignacio Aguado Herranz: 8 kills, 4 digs, 1 ace
• Anthony Potratz: 3 aces, 3 kills, 1 block
• Hector Lopez Navarro: 10 assists, 2 digs, 2 kills
• Spencer Krantz: 7 digs

STANDOUTS (AGAINST MARANATHA BAPTIST)

• Ignacio Aguado Herranz: 11 kills, 3 digs, 1 ace
• Sebastian Rivera: 8 kills, 11 digs
• Anthony Potratz: 6 kills, 3 aces
• Hector Lopez Navarro: 22 assists, 3 digs
• Spencer Krantz: 9 digs, 2 kills

UP NEXT
The Storm will return to the court tomorrow at noon to face off against Rockford in their final game of the weekend tournament.