HAMMOND, Indiana -- The Lake Erie volleyball team traveled to the state of Indiana to step out of G-MAC play to compete in the Midwest Region Crossover. Lake Erie would compete against Upper Iowa University, McKendree University, and Lake Superior State University. On day one, the Storm would face the Peacocks. One day two, Lake Erie faced the Bearcats in game one and the Lakers in game two. The Storm would finish the crossover 0-3. Lake Erie moves to 5-15 on the year. 

Game Recaps

DAY ONE

The Storm began the Midwest Region Crossover against the Upper Iowa Peacocks. Lake Erie would win a tight first set over Upper Iowa, but the Peacocks would grab the four-set victory. 

The first set would see Lake Erie race out to an early 5-1 lead after an ace from senior Sarah Leyden and a kill from redshirt freshman Rori Hanken. The Peacocks would cut the lead to 7-6 after multiple Storm attack errors. Upper Iowa would take an 11-10 lead after multiple kills. The Storm would grab the lead back by taking five of the next six points after kills from Hanken, sophomore Diamond Baker, and freshman Allison Kirch. Lake Erie would build the lead to 21-15 after a block from seniors Katelyn McMoore and Anna Lewis, and a kill by Lewis. The Peacocks would take five of the next six points to cut the lead to 22-20. Extra points would be needed with Upper Iowa tying the set at 24-24. A Peacocks service error and a kill from Hanken, assisted by Leyden would give the Storm the first set by a score of 26-24.  

The second set would begin with teams exchanging points. After an Upper Iowa kill to give UIU a 5-4 lead, Lake Erie would take the next four points after kills from Lewis and Kirch, an ace from Leyden, and a block from Hanken and Lewis to give LEC a 8-5 lead. After a Peacocks attack error to give the Storm a 10-8 lead, the Peacocks would take six of the next eight points to take a 14-12 lead. Upper Iowa would take the next nine points, taking full advantage in the set, and take a 24-12 lead. A kill from McMoore would not be enough as the Peacocks would win the second set by a score of 25-13. 

The third set would see Lake Erie jump ahead early in the set by taking a 4-1 lead after kills from senior Alexandra Matthews and a block from McMoore and Baker. Upper Iowa would take the next eight points to take an 9-5 lead, with a solo block from sophomore Kennady Wiley ending the string of points. The Peacocks would continue to grow the lead to 20-8, taking advantage of Storm miscues. Kills from McMoore, assisted by senior Simone Schurr, would not be enough as Upper Iowa would take the third set by a score of 25-10. 

The fourth set began with teams exchanging points. With the set tied at 8-8, the Peacocks would take six of the next seven points to take a 14-9 lead. The Storm would take the next three points with kills from McMoore and Hanken, and a block by Hanken and freshman Sadie Nawrocki. After an Upper Iowa kill to give UIU a 18-14 lead, Lake Erie would tie it at 18-18 after kills from Nawrocki and freshman Gabrielle Jones, each assisted by Schurr. After a quick exchange of points, the Peacocks would grab a 23-20 lead. The Storm would fight back to take the next three points to tie the set at 23-23. Upper Iowa would take the next two points to win the fourth set by a score of 25-23. 

The Storm offense was led by Hanken, who would have 10 kills. Leyden would serve the two lone aces from service line. Schurr would lead the team with 19 assists and Leyden would have 17. The Storm defense was led by Hanken, who would have six blocks, and senior Brooklyn Broadway would lead the team in digs with 18. 

The Matchup

Lake Erie's loss to Upper Iowa is their second of the year, bringing their all-time record to 0-2 against UIU. 

DAY TWO

GAME ONE

The Storm began day two against the McKendree Bearcats. The Bearcats would prevail in straight sets. 

The first set would see McKendree race out to an early 4-1 lead. The Bearcats would grow the lead to 10-4. A block by Baker and Kirch and a McKendree service error would cut the McKendree lead to 11-6. The Bearcats would grab the momentum in the set by taking a 16-6 lead. Kills by McMoore and junior Jasmine Heyward would cut the McKendree lead to 17-9. The Bearcats would not let Storm fight back by taking the next five points to bring their lead to 22-9. Kills by Hanken would not be enough for Lake Erie as McKendree would win the first set by a score of 25-14. 

The second set began with teams exchanging points. After a kill by Nawrocki would cut the lead for the Bearcats to 4-3, the Bearcats would grab momentum in the set by taking an 8-4 lead. McKendree would grow their lead to 14-6 by taking six of the next eight points. Lake Erie would fight back cutting the lead to 16-12 with a kill from Kirch and a block by Matthews and Hanken. A kill and an ace from Matthews would bring the score to 19-16. A kill from Kirch and two McKendree service errors would not be enough as McKendree would win the second set by a score of 25-19.    

The third set would see the Bearcats jump out to an early 3-1 lead. After a kill by Baker to cut the McKendree lead to 4-3, McKendree would take 10 of the next 12 points to bring the score to 14-5. The Storm would strike next cutting the Bearcats lead to 15-13 after kills from Lewis, Hanken, and Nawrocki, three blocks from Lewis and Hanken, and two aces from Kirch. McKendree halted the Lake Erie momentum by taking five of the next six points to bring the score to 20-14. The Bearcats would win the third set by a score of 25-18.

The Storm offense was led by Hanken, who would have seven kills. Kirch would serve two aces and Matthews would have one ace. Schurr would lead the team with 11 assists and Leyden would have 10. The Storm defense was led by Hanken, who would have four blocks, and Broadway would lead the team in digs with 10. 

The Matchup

With the loss, Lake Erie is now 0-4 all time against McKendree.

GAME TWO

The Storm concluded the crossover against the Lake Superior State Lakers. Lake Erie would take the third set, but Lake Superior State would grab a four-set victory. 

The first set began with teams exchanging points. The Storm would be first to grab momentum in the set taking a 17-13 lead after kills from Baker and Matthews, and a block by Baker and Hanken. The Lakers would claw their way back and take a 21-20 lead after an ace. A kill by McMoore and a Lake Superior State ball handling error would put Lake Erie back ahead 22-21. The Lakers would take four of the next five points and win the first set by a score of 25-23.

The second set would see Lake Superior State jump out to an early 5-2 lead after multiple Lake Erie miscues. The Storm would take an 8-7 lead after a Baker ace. The Lakers would take six of the next seven points to take a 13-9 lead. Lake Erie would take the next three points after an ace from freshman Cecelia Mullen and a kill from Jones to cut the Lakers lead to 13-12. Lake Superior State would then take the next five points to bring the score to 17-12. The Lakers would see their lead grow to 23-17. Kills from Kirch and Lewis would not be enough as Lake Superior State would in the second set by a score of 25-20. 

The third set would see Lake Erie race out to an early 8-2 lead after kills from Heyward, Hanken, and Baker, and three consecutive aces from Baker. The Lakers would cut the Storm lead to 13-11 after three kills. Lake Erie would take a 20-15 lead after kills from Hanken and Nawrocki. Kills from Nawrocki and Baker would give the Storm the third set by a score of 25-19. 

The fourth set began with Lake Superior State jolting to a 5-2 lead. The lead would grow to 11-4 for the Lakers after multiple Storm miscues. Lake Erie miscues would continue to pile up with the Lake Superior State lead growing to 20-9. The Storm would not go down without a fight as they would take four of the next five points with kills from Lewis and Nawrocki, a block from Heyward and Lewis, and an ace from Broadway to cut the lead to 21-13. Kills from Baker and Heyward would not be enough as the Lakers would take the fourth set by a score of 25-17. 

The Storm offense was led by Baker, tying a career high of 11 kills. Baker would also serve a career high four aces. Schurr would lead the team with 23 assists and Leyden would have 17. The Storm defense would see four players recording one block, and Broadway would lead the team in digs with 12. 

The Matchup

Lake Erie has now lost two straight matches against Lake Superior State, previously playing in 2023 in the crossover and now has a 4-5 all time record against LSSU. 

Looking Ahead

Lake Erie return's home to continue non-conference play as they welcome Glenville State University on Tuesday, October 22nd at 5 p.m.