PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie volleyball team hosted senior night and their final home game of the season as they competed in a G-MAC competition against the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers. The Storm would take a four-set victory over the Panthers to win the senior's final home game. Lake Erie is now 5-9 in the G-MAC and 8-18 overall. 

Game Recap

The first set would begin with Kentucky Wesleyan taking an early 3-1 lead. The Storm would grab their first lead of the set at 7-6 after three straight Panthers miscues. Lake Erie would grow their lead to 14-10 after kills from senior Alexandra Matthews and redshirt freshman Rori Hanken, each assisted by senior Simone Schurr, and an ace from senior Anna Lewis. Kentucky Wesleyan would take the next eight points to take an 18-14 lead. Lake Erie would tie the set back up at 19-19 after kills from Matthews and Hanken. After a Panthers kill, the Storm would take the next six points with kills from Hanken and senior Katelyn McMoore, an ace from senior Brooklyn Broadway, and a block by Lewis and freshman Sadie Nawrocki to win the first set by a score of 25-20. 

The second set began with the Panthers racing out to a 5-1 lead after multiple Storm miscues. Lake Erie would tie the set at 7-7 after a kill from Hanken and a block by Hanken and Nawrocki. After exchanging points, the Storm would take eight of nine points to take a 19-14 lead with kills from Lewis, McMoore, Nawrocki, and freshman Gabrielle Jones. Kentucky Wesleyan would cut the lead to 19-17 after taking three straight points. Lake Erie would take the next three points on a kill and ace from McMoore to take a 22-17 lead. Kills from Nawrocki and Matthews would close out the set for the Storm as they would take the second set by a score of 25-19. 

The third set would begin with teams exchanging points. After a kill from Nawrocki, the Panthers would take eight of nine points to take a 12-4 lead after multiple Storm miscues. With the score at 16-9, Lake Erie would take nine of the next 10 points to take an 18-17 lead with kills from McMoore, Matthews, and Nawrocki, each assisted by senior Sarah Leyden, an ace from McMoore, and a block from Hanken and Nawrocki. Kentucky Wesleyan would fight back and take five of the next six points to take a 22-19 lead. Kills from Matthews and Jones, and a block from McMoore and Hanken would not be enough as the Panthers would take the third set by a score of 25-23. 

The fourth set would see Kentucky Wesleyan continue their third set momentum by taking an early 8-4 lead. Lake Erie would take six of the next seven points to take a 10-9 lead after kills from Matthews, McMoore, and Nawrocki, a block from Lewis and Matthews, and an ace from Broadway. With the set tied at 19-19, the Storm would take six of the next seven points with a kill from Matthews, a block by Nawrocki and Hanken, and a block by Lewis and Jones to take the fourth set by a score of 25-20.

The Storm offense was led by Matthews, McMoore, and Nawrocki each having eight kills. Leyden would lead the team with 18 assists and Schurr would have 17. The Storm defense was led by Lewis, who would have six blocks. McMoore, Broadway, and freshman Cecelia Mullen would each have at least 10 digs, with McMoore posting a team and career-high of 22. 

The Matchup

With the win, Lake Erie snapped a two-game losing streak against Kentucky Wesleyan, and is now 5-8 all-time against KWC. 

Looking Ahead

Lake Erie will finish the remainder of their games on the road, beginning with a non-conference matchup against Wheeling University on Saturday, November 9th at 3 p.m.