Volleyball wraps nonconference slate with midweek win

GRINNELL, Iowa – The Simpson College volleyball team wrapped its 2022 nonconference slate with a 3-1 midweek victory at Grinnell.

The Storm (11-8, 2-1 A-R-C) will enter their toughest weekend of league games having won seven of their last eight matches.

In a tight first set that had 14 ties and four lead changes, Simpson secured a 25-20 win. The frame sat tied at 19-19 before four straight kills including two from Autumn Finch gave the Storm the breathing room they needed to jump out to a 1-0 lead.

Simpson extended its lead to 2-0 with a 25-19 win in set two. The Storm fell into a 5-0 hole early on and didn't claim their first lead until a Jessica Jacobs kill capped off a 5-0 spurt that placed the game at 15-14. The guests maintained their advantage from that point forward with the help of kills from Courtney Paxton, Finch and Jacobs as well as a pair of aces from Jacobs and Peyton Mitchell.

After Grinnell (12-6, 3-0 MWC) swiped set three by a score of 25-18, Simpson put the match away with a balanced attack in the following frame. An early 6-0 run propelled the Storm to a 9-5 edge and back-to-back kills from MItchell and Jacobs gave the team its first eight-point lead at 18-10. Simpson scored seven of the final eight points to win 25-13.

Jacobs finished the evening with a match-high 15 kills to go with six digs, three aces and a block. Along with compiling four aces, four digs and three blocks, Mitchell recorded eight kills and went without an error in 14 swings. Lexie Parks had 10 kills, Finch added seven and Paxton finished with five.

Marissa Salber recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 44 assists and 11 digs. Iman Ghalibaf hit the 20-dig plateau for the seventh time, Ellie Gray posted seven digs, and Rachel Hardwick contributed six.

Up Next
The Storm are set to welcome the top two teams in American Rivers Conference standings to Indianola High School for their final two home games of the regular season this weekend. Simpson will take on No. 20 Coe on Friday at 7:30 p.m. before RV Wartburg on Saturday at 11 a.m.