Simpson rallies to beat Schreiner, hangs tough with No. 25 UHMB

HOUSTON, Texas – On day two of the First Responder's Tournament, the Simpson College volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Schreiner in five sets and lost a hard-fought battle with No. 25 Mary Hardin-Baylor 3-1.

The Storm (4-4) avenged their Friday night loss to Schreiner (4-3) in comeback fashion, winning the final three sets by scores of 25-21, 25-21 and 18-16 after dropping the first two sets 25-21 and 25-22.

In the second match, Simpson claimed the opening set from the nationally-ranked Cru by a score of 27-25. Mary Hardin-Baylor evened the match with a tight 25-22 win in set two before taking set three 25-19. The two teams battled out to a 29-all draw in the fourth set but the Cru (7-2) outlasted the Storm for the 3-1 victory.

Match 1: Simpson 3, Schreiner 2
Simpson's rally from two behind started with an 11-3 run in the third set that put the Storm ahead 21-13. Schreiner crawled back into it but Simpson led by at least three the rest of the way and used the momentum to jump out to a 11-4 advantage in set four. The Mountaineers made a late push once again but big kills by Jessica Jacobs and Autumn Finch sent the match to a fifth set.

Unlike the previous two sets, Schreiner got off to the fast start in the fifth and built a 7-3 advantage. Simpson scored four of the next five points but didn't close the gap until 14-14 on a kill by Ragan Shelgren. The set was tied at 15 and 16 before a Camryn McKay kill and Schreiner attack error gave the Storm the win.

Jacobs registered her first 20-kill performance of the year and McKay knocked down 10 with just one error in 20 attempts (.450). Four players finished with double-digit digs and Marissa Salber dished out a season-high 42 assists, officially surpassing 1,000 career assists at Simpson. 

Match 2: Mary Hardin-Baylor 3, Simpson 1
The Storm shocked the Cru by grabbing the first four points of the game and using a 8-3 run to claim a 15-8 lead in set one. A big rally by UMHB fueled by four kills from Katie Warden tied the game at 17 and the two teams went back and forth for 16 straight points as the game sat locked at 25-25. A kill by Parks gave Simpson a one-point edge before Jacobs sealed the win on the next play.

Set two went to the Cru but not before Simpson made things interesting at the end by fighting off seven match points. Later trailing two sets to one, the Storm hurried out to a 5-0 advantage and extended their lead to as many as nine before the Cru rallied to tie the fourth set at 14-all. Simpson managed to get in front 23-20 and held match point on four occasions but were outlasted in the 31-29 loss.

Five players finished with at least six kills paced by Jacobs (15) and Parks (11).

Up Next
Simpson heads to Nebraska Wesleyan for both team's American Rivers Conference opener on Wednesday. First serve is set for 6 p.m.