PAINESVILLE, Ohio — The Storm volleyball team hosted the Ohio Dominican Panthers for their Dig Pink game. The Storm and Panthers fought hard, with the Storm taking the first set, but the Panthers winning the last three to take the match. The Storm moved to a 2-15 record, and the Panthers advanced to a 7-13 record.
The Storm started off the night with a six point run from sophomore setter Simone Schurr on the service line. Kills from senior Jordan Taylor and senior Dora Olah put the Storm in action. The Panthers tried to fight back, but the Storm furthered their lead to 11-2. The Panthers then went on a run to bring it to 12-8, with the Storm still ahead. The teams stayed competitive, and found themselves at a 13-13 tie in the middle of the set. Sophomore libero Brooklyn Broadway went on a short run to bring the Storm to 17-13, with the help of kills from junior Alexandra Matthews, senior Maria Blatnik and Taylor. The Storm finished out the match with Panther errors and another kill from Taylor, 25-21.
The second set started off with another run from the Storm, led by Taylor. With a 5-0 lead, the Storm and the Panthers began to battle. The Panthers tied it up at 6-6, followed by kills from Olah and Blatnik. The score stayed tight, with another tie at 14-14. Kills from junior Katelyn McMoore and junior Schylar Shepard kept the Storm alive, along with Panther errors. The Storm grew a nice lead of 21-15 going into the end of the set, but the Panthers were not done fighting. The Panthers came back and tied it up at 22-22, and ended up taking the set from five consecutive kills, 25-22.
The third set was up in the air for anyone. Both teams stayed strong on offense and defense with tied scores all throughout the set. At 14-14, the Panthers grew a lead from three kills. They continued their run to take a 20-14 lead, before a service error brought the Storm back. A few Panther errors kept the Storm hopeful, but the Panthers ended up taking the third set 25-17.
The score was tied early in the third set, with the Panthers up 2-1 in sets. Both teams went kill for kill throughout the match, with exceptional offense from Storm's Olah, Shepard, Blatnik, Taylor, and McMoore. The Storm was down 12-20 going into the set, but fought on. After a kill from Taylor, Schurr went on a seven point run to tie it up at 20-20. The Panthers responded with a kill, matched with another kill from Olah. Two kills from the Panthers gave them the match point at 24-22, followed by a service error. A Storm error at 24-23 gave the Panthers the match winning set, 25-23.
Schurr led the Storm in assists, finishing with 26. Olah matched her season high of 18 kills. Taylor picked up 19 digs, with Broadway right behind with 17 digs.
The Storm return to their home court on Saturday, October 8th at 5:00 PM to take on the Cedarville Yellow Jackets.
