Storm fall in hard-fought five set matchup in Grinnell

GRINNELL, Iowa – The Storm fell in five sets to Grinnell this evening in a hard fought battle. The team won the first set, followed by losing in sets two and three. In a must-win set, the Storm took the fourth, however they fell in the fifth to fall against Grinnell.

Emily Williams and Jada Schmidt led the team in kills with 15 a piece. Emily Williams recorded a double-double in tonight's matchup with her 15 kills and 16 digs. Morgan DenBeste led the team in assists with 21, and Ella Meyer led the team in digs with 25.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Set one opened with a kill by freshman Emmy Seiler, assisted by Ella Meyer. The teams played a back and forth game until mid set when the Storm went on a 3-0 run with two aces from Morgan DenBeste to bring the lead to 12-9. Their lead grew for the remainder of the set, and the Storm finished set one on a 4-0 run and a final score of 25-17.
• Peyton Mitchell started set two strong with a kill, assisted by Morgan DenBeste. The Storm fell to a late 5-0 run by Grinnell. A kill by Courtney Paxton cut off the run, however the team still fell to Grinnell 25-16.
• The Storm started behind in set three, but they quickly brought the lead back at 6-5 with a kill by Emily Williams, assisted by Audrey Behrens. Grinnell went on a 6-0 run and Simpson never caught back up despite three kills in a row by Jada Schmidt. The Storm fell in set three 25-23.
• After a strong third set performance, Jada Schmidt had the opening kill of set four. A service ace by Ella Meyer led the team to a 3-0 run early in the set, and the Storm took the lead. Simpson went on a late 6-0 run with two aces by Audrey Behrens. The Storm won set four 25-21.
• Jada Schmidt opened the fifth set with a kill, assisted by Morgan DenBeste. Grinnell went on a 4-0 run mid set to take the lead back, but their run was cut short by Schmidt yet again. Grinnell went on another run late in the set and won the match with a 15-9 fifth set score.

STANDOUTS

• Emily Williams: 15 kills, 16 digs, 1 ace
• Jada Schmidt: 15 kills, 5 digs
• Peyton Mitchell: 11 kills, 1 ace, 3 digs
• Morgan DenBeste: 21 assists, 3 aces, 9 digs
• Ella Meyer: 25 digs, 1 ace

NOTES

• The Storm tied their season-best 50 kills in tonight's matchup against Grinnell. Their other 50-kill match was against Rose-Hulman on August 31.
• Emily Williams recorded her seventh career double-double tonight, and her first double-double of the season, with 15 kills and 16 digs. Her last double-double was Oct. 28 of last year against Wartburg.
• Jada Schmidt recorded a season-best 15 kills tonight, her best performance since Sept. 15 of last year against Wis.-La Crosse.

UP NEXT
The Storm will travel to Waverly to compete in the Wartburg tournament this weekend. Their first match is on Friday against Saint Benedict.