CANTON, Ohio- The Lake Erie College volleyball team was defeated in a Great Midwest matchup against the Malone University Pioneers on Saturday (Sept. 30) afternoon on the road.

Malone took the matchup by a 3-1 (23-25, 13-25, 25-21, 19-25) final score over the Storm.

Malone took an early 4-1 lead in the first set before the Storm trimmed the deficit to one at 7-6. Malone pushed the lead to as many as five before Lake Erie took a timeout trailing 17-12. Malone led 22-14 late in the set but Lake Erie rallied off five straight points. With the Storm trailing 22-19, the Storm chipped away at Malone's lead up until the final points. Lake Erie escaped four set points with four straight points but fell in the first set 25-23.

After Malone started the second set with a 6-1 lead, Lake Erie used a four point rally to pull within two at 9-7. The Pioneers went on to win the second set 25-13.

Lake Erie jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the third set as Malone took a timeout. Malone rallied out of the timeout to tie the set at ten apiece. With the set tied at 15, Lake Erie used three straight points to force a Pioneers timeout. Lake Erie ended the third set with a kill by Bethany Fisher (Orrville, Ohio / Dalton) as the Storm won set three 25-21.

Malone led 9-3 in the fourth set before the Storm rallied again. After a Pioneers timeout, Lake Erie scored 12 of the next 17 points as they pulled within one at 16-15. The Pioneers won the match with a 25-19 fourth set win.

Brooke Peiffer (Lansing, Mich. / Holt) had 13 kills and 13 digs for the Storm while Fisher added 13 kills of her own. Lexi Lombardo (Olmsted Falls, Ohio / Olmsted Falls) had ten kills on 25 attempts. Alexis Thomas (Cincinnati, Ohio / Fairfield) had 19 assists and 18 digs on defense. Hallie Zumack (Independence, Ohio / Independence / Tusculum) assisted on 15 of the Storm's points. Sidney Fletcher (Saline, Mich. / Saline) led all players with 19 digs.

The Storm will host the University of Findlay at the Osborne Center on Friday (Oct. 6) night.

-LEC-