PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie volleyball returned home to continue G-MAC competition against the Ursuline Arrows. The Arrows would win the first two sets, but the Storm would win the last three sets to complete the reverse sweep. Lake Erie moves to 3-6 in the G-MAC and 5-12 overall. 

Game Recap

The first set would see the Arrows jump ahead early 4-1 after multiple Storm attack errors. After a kill from Ursuline to give UC a 13-11 lead, Lake Erie would win four of the next five points with kills from sophomore Diamond Baker, redshirt freshman Rori Hanken, and freshman Allison Kirch, and an ace from senior Sarah Leyden to give Lake Erie a 15-14 lead. The Arrows would take the lead back by winning the next three points to take a 17-15 lead. The teams would then trade points back and forth. After a block by Kirch to tie the set at 23-23, Ursuline would take the next two points and win the first set by a score of 25-23. 

The second set would see the Storm race to an early 10-5 lead after kills from Hanken, Kirch and senior Anna Lewis. The Arrows would erase the lead by winning the next five points to tie the set at 10-10. Lake Erie would take the lead back with kills from senior Alexandra Matthews and Hanken, as well as a block by Baker and Hanken. Ursuline would take eight of the next 10 points to take a 20-18 lead. A kill from freshman Sadie Nawrocki would not be enough as Storm attack errors would pile up and give the Arrows the second set by a score of 25-19. 

The third set would see Ursuline win the first five points of the set to take a 5-0 lead. Lake Erie would cut the lead to 7-5 after kills from Matthews and Baker. The Arrows would grow their lead to 13-6 after a kill. The Storm would cut the lead down to 15-12 after kills from Baker and freshmen Gabrielle Jones and Nora Larson. Lake Erie would tie the set at 18-18 after kills from Matthews and Lewis, a block from Lewis, and aces from freshman Paige Jestadt and senior libero Brooklyn Broadway. The Storm would take a 21-19 lead after kills from Jones and Baker, and a block by Jones and Baker. Needing extra points in the set after an Ursuline kill to tie the set at 24-24, Lake Erie would win the set 26-24 after kills from Larson and Lewis.

The fourth set would see the Storm jump out to an early 5-2 lead after kills from Lewis, Baker, and Matthews. After a Lake Erie attack error to cut the LEC lead to 8-7, Lake Erie would take eight of the next nine points to take a 16-8 lead with kills from Matthews, Baker, and junior Jasmine Heyward and a block from Jones and Baker. Ursuline would fight back and take the next five points to cut the lead to 16-13. After an Arrows block to bring the score to 18-15, kills from Jones and Larson, and three aces from senior Simone Schurr would give the Storm the fourth set by a score of 25-17 

The fifth set would see the Arrows take a quick 4-1 lead after a Lake Erie attack error. The Storm would strike by winning the next eight points with kills from Baker and Larson, an ace from Broadway, and solo blocks from Heyward and Larson to take a 9-4 lead. After an Ursuline kill to bring the score to 10-6, Lake Erie would take the next four points with kills from Larson and Jones, and an ace from Jestadt to build the lead to 14-6. A Jones kill would seal the fifth set as the Storm would take set five by a score of 15-8. 

The Storm offense would see three players have at least 10 kills. Baker would lead the team with 11 kills, with Matthews and Larson each having 10. At the service line, Schurr would have three aces, with Jestadt and Broadway also having two. Schurr and Leyden would each pitch in 25 assists. The Storm defense was led by Baker, who would have five blocks, and Broadway would lead the team with a career high 34 digs, and freshman Cecelia Mullen would add 16 of her own and Jestadt would also have a career high of 10. 

The Matchup

With the win, Lake Erie splits the season series with Ursuline, and Lake Erie has now won four of the last five matches against Ursuline.

Looking Ahead

Lake Erie will head back on the road and step out of G-MAC competition to compete in the Midwest Region Crossover on October 18th and 19th with opponents and times to be determined.