Storm finish strong to split opening weekend in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The trio of Jacque Luth, Morgan Taylor and Hannah Lester helped the Simpson volleyball team win a pair of three-set matches on its final day of the 2017 Puerto Rico Classic as the Storm earned a split on the weekend.

The Storm (2-2) opened the season with a five-set loss to Bridgewater and a four-set loss to Ramapo on Friday. After a day off, the Storm regrouped to beat Dickinson and Wilkes in straight-sets on Sunday.

RESULTS
Bridgewater 3, Simpson 2 (25-22, 21-25, 12-25, 25-21, 15-17)
Ramapo 3, Simpson 1 (23-25, 25-20, 24-26, 20-25)
Simpson 3, Dickinson 0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-18)
Simpson 3, Wilkes 0 (26-24, 25-12, 25-9)

STAT LEADERS
Jacque Luth — 55 kills, .311 pct, 48 digs
Morgan Taylor — 40 kills, .123 pct, 43 digs
Hannah Lester — 27 kills, .304 pct, 15 total blocks
Katrina Hartman — 22 kills, .231 pct, 8 total blocks
Alyssa Mathews — 113 assists, 4 aces
Kayla Aronow — 58 digs, 3 aces

NEWS AND NOTES
• Luth enjoyed a big opening weekend, tallying double-digit kills in three of four matches to increase her career total to 884 kills. She is looking to become the 16th player in school history to reach 1,000 career kills.

• After accumulating 20 kills in 11 matches as a freshman in 2016, Taylor showed that she will play a big part in Simpson's game plan in 2017 after tallying 40 kills on the weekend.

• A senior defensive specialist, Aronow moved into 12th on Simpson's all-time list with 1,105 career digs.