PAINESVILLE, Ohio- The Lake Erie College volleyball team opened Great Midwest play on Thursday (Sept. 14) evening with a matchup against the Davis & Elkins College Senators.

The Storm won their G-MAC debut with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-7, 25-12) sweep over the Senators.

In the first set, the Storm jumped out to a 5-0 lead over the Senators. Davis & Elkins trimmed the lead to 10-6 before the Storm pulled away with three straight points. A service ace by Brooke Peiffer (Lansing, Mich. / Holt) forced a Senators timeout, trailing 13-6. Lake Erie then went on a 9-3 run after the timeout with two service aces by Sidney Fletcher (Saline, Mich. / Saline). Davis & Elkins used their second timeout as the Storm led 22-9. Lake Erie closed out the set 25-10, taking a 1-0 lead.

Lake Erie continued the momentum into the second set with a 5-0 run from the start. Davis & Elkins responded with a spurt that closed the gap to 6-4. Bethany Fisher (Orrville, Ohio / Dalton) capped a 12-3 Storm rally with a thunderous kill to force a timeout. With an 18-7 lead, Lake Erie used seven straight points to win the second set 25-7.

The Storm quickly responded from a small deficit in the third set. Davis & Elkins scored first but the Storm regained the lead. The Senators kept the Storm close in the early going as they got the lead down to 7-5. The teams exchanged points until the Storm got on a 7-0 run, pushing the lead to 22-10. Lake Erie took advantage of some late errors to close out the match 25-12 in the third set.

Fisher led the Storm with ten kills in the match. Lexi Lombardo (Olmsted Falls, Ohio / Olmsted Falls) had five kills, one solo block and four block assists. Hallie Zumack (Independence, Ohio / Independence) had 14 assists while Alexis Thomas (Cincinnati, Ohio / Fairfield) finished with 12 assists. Fletcher led all scorers with 12 digs and six service aces.

Lake Erie will host Flagler and Alderson Broaddus in a doubleheader on Friday (Sept. 15). The Storm will face Flagler at 3:30 PM and the Battlers at 7:00 PM.  

-LEC-