Storm sweep Martin Luther, fall to St. Olaf

RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The Simpson College women's volleyball team closed the weekend with a Saturday split, beating Martin Luther in three sets before falling to St. Olaf 3-0.

GAME ONE SUMMARY

• Simpson (3-5) broke a 10-10 tie in the first with a 7-1 run ignited by a block and two aces from Peyton Mitchell. The Knights (2-5) closed the Storm's lead to 19-18, but Simpson rattled off four straight points for some breathing room. Mitchell finished things off with her third kill of the set, as Simpson took a 1-0 lead with a 25-19 victory.
• The Storm hit .344 in set two, making just two errors in 32 attempts en route to a 25-14 win. Emily Williams led the way with half of her eight kills, while Mitchell added three kills and had two solo blocks.
• In the final set, Simpson took the lead for good with a Jada Schmidt kill that made the score 14-13. Back-to-back kills from Mitchell and Natalee Danner were the final two points that completed the 25-21 win and match sweep.

GAME TWO SUMMARY

• The first set was back-and-forth the entire way, with neither team leading by more than three points. The Oles (4-1) took their first lead of the match at 17-16 and went ahead 23-20 before the Storm knotted things up with three straight points. A kill from Anysia Caille and an attack error by the Storm then gave St. Olaf the tight 25-23 decision.
• The Oles maintained more control in the second and third sets, winning by scores of 25-19 and 25-17. St. Olaf hit .292 with 29 kills in the final two frames, while Simpson had just 17 kills and a .077 hitting efficiency.

SIMPSON STANDOUTS

• Emily Williams - 15 kills, 3 blocks
• Jada Schmidt - 15 kills
• Peyton Mitchell - 12 kills, 4 blocks

UP NEXT
The Storm return to Wisconsin next weekend for another tournament full of nonconference action. Simpson will face Macalester, Wis.-La Crosse, Minn.-Morris and Augsburg while in La Crosse.