CANTON, Ohio -- The Lake Erie volleyball team hit the road and continued G-MAC competition against the Malone Pioneers. The Storm would get a five-set victory over the Pioneers with senior Simone Schurr recording her 2,000th career assist. Lake Erie moves to 2-6 in the G-MAC and 4-12 overall.  

Game Recap  

The first set would begin with the Storm gaining early traction in the set by grabbing a 5-2 lead after an ace from freshman Cecelia Mullen. The Pioneers would then take a 11-9 advantage after a Pioneers block. Malone would take a three point lead at 17-14 after a Malone block. Two kills from senior Katelyn McMoore, each assisted by Schurr and multiple Pioneers attack errors would tie the set at 19-19. Malone would rip off the next four points taking advantage of Lake Erie miscues to take a 23-19 lead. Kills from freshman Allison Kirch and redshirt freshman Rori Hanken, each assisted by senior Sarah Leyden, would not be enough as the Pioneers would take the first set by a score of 25-23. 

The second set would see Malone continue their momentum from set one as they would take an early 6-3 lead after Lake Erie miscues. Three consecutive Pioneers miscues would tie the set at 7-7. The Storm would begin to gain momentum in the set as they would take a 13-10 lead after aces from Schurr and Kirch, and kills from Kirch and McMoore. After a Lake Erie attack error, Malone cut the Lake Erie lead to 16-15. The Storm would strike as they would take nine of the next 10 points with kills from Kirch, Hanken, and McMoore as well as blocks from Kirch and sophomore Kennady Wiley and a solo block by Wiley and win the second set by a score of 25-16.

The third set would begin with the teams exchanging points back and forth. After a Pioneers block to tie the set at 7-7, kills from Kirch and sophomore Diamond Baker would give the Storm a 10-7 lead. Lake Erie's lead would quickly dissolve as Malone would win the next four points to take an 11-10 lead. The Storm would take the next three points to take a 13-11 lead after kills from McMoore and senior Alexandra Matthews. Lake Erie would grow their lead to 24-16 after kills from Hanken, Kirch, Baker, and McMoore and an ace from Wiley. The Pioneers would take the next three points to cut the Storm lead to 24-19. A kill from Baker would seal the third set for Lake Erie as they would win by a score of 25-19. 

The fourth set would see Malone race out to an early 10-4 lead. The Pioneers would continue to build their lead in the set by taking an 18-11 advantage. Lake Erie would cut the Malone lead 20-18 with kills from Kirch, Matthews, Hanken, and senior Anna Lewis, and a block from Matthews. The Pioneers would take five of the next six points and take the fourth set by a score of 25-19 and the match would go the distance.

The fifth set would see Malone jump out to a quick 3-1 lead. Lake Erie would take the next three points for a 4-3 lead with two kills from Kirch. After a Storm attack error to give the Pioneers a 5-4 lead, the Storm would take the next three points and take a 7-5 lead with multiple Pioneers miscues and an ace from Kirch. After trading points, Malone would take a 12-11 advantage. Lake Erie would take the next four points with kills from Kirch and Hanken, as well as an ace from Leyden to take the fifth set by a score of 15-12. 

The Storm offense would see four players have over 10 kills. Kirch would lead the way with 17 kills and Hanken would have a career high of 16. At the service line, Kirch would have two aces and Schurr and Leyden would each have one. Schurr would lead the team with a season high 29 assists and Leyden would also record a season high of 28 assists. The Storm defense was led by Wiley, who would have three blocks, and senior Brooklyn Broadway would lead the team in digs with a season high 27 digs. 

The Matchup

With the win, Lake Erie has won two of the last three matches against Malone with the last two matches each needing five sets. 

Looking Ahead

Lake Erie will head back home to continue G-MAC competiton as they will welcome Ursuline College on Saturday, October 12th at 5 p.m.