PAINESVILLE, Ohio – The Lake Erie volleyball returned home for a non-conference matchup against the Roberts Wesleyan RedHawks. The RedHawks would hold on for the first set. The Storm would find their footing and take the next three sets. Players that set career highs in the match include Sophia McKenzie, Kennedy Stewart, Paige Jestadt, Kennady Wiley, and Kylie Anderson.
 
Team Records
 
Lake Erie: 9-12
Roberts Wesleyan: 2-17
 
Game Recap
 
Lake Erie- 3
Roberts Wesleyan- 1
 
Set 1: Teams would begin the set exchanging points. The Storm would take a 12-11 lead after a kill from Kennedy Stewart, and a block from Stewart and Gabrielle Jones. After another exchange points, the RedHawks would grab momentum in set, taking five straight points to take a 23-19 lead. Lake Erie would counter with four of the next five points with kills from Sadie Nawrocki and Jasmine Heyward, cutting the deficit to 24-23. Roberts Wesleyan would take the next point and hold on 25-23. 
 
Set 2: The RedHawks would continue their first set momentum and open up an early 7-1 lead. The Storm would tie the set at 9 after a kill and an ace from Kennady Wiley. Lake Erie would take their first lead of the set at 13-12 after kills from Sophia McKenzie and Ni'yah Fuggs, and an ace from McKenzie. The Storm would take eight straight points with the lead at 23-16 and taking momentum in the set with five kills from McKenzie and two aces from Bella Kessler. A kill from Wiley and a solo block from McKenzie would give Lake Erie the set 25-17.
 
Set 3: The Storm would race ahead to an early 5-2 with kills from McKenzie and Stewart, a solo block from Stewart, and an ace from McKenzie. The RedHawks would find their footing and take a 10-8 lead. Lake Erie would take six of the next seven points, retaking the lead 14-11 after three kills from McKenzie, two blocks from Fuggs and Stewart, and an ace from McKenzie. The Storm would continue to the lead to 20-14 with kills from Stewart, Fuggs, McKenzie, and Nora Larson, each assisted from Kylie Anderson. Roberts Wesleyan would then take five straight points, cutting their deficit to 20-19. Lake Erie would then get three straight points with a kill from McKenzie and two solo blocks from Stewart, growing the lead to 23-19. The Storm would hold for the set 25-22.  
 
Set 4: The teams would begin the set exchanging points. The RedHawks would grab momentum first, taking an 11-8 lead. The Storm would then take seven of the next eight points, taking a 15-12 lead after kills from Fuggs and Anderson, two aces from Wiley, and a solo block from Stewart. Lake Erie would grow their lead to 20-16 after two kills from Allison Kirch. Roberts Wesleyan would take the next three points, cutting their deficit to 20-19. Kills from Fuggs and Larson would give the Storm the set 25-21.
 
Key Team Stats:
 
Kills: Storm- 55, RedHawks- 44
Attack Errors: Storm- 24, RedHawks- 24
Hitting Percentage: Storm- .186, RedHawks- .123
 
Aces: Storm- 8, RedHawks- 7 
Blocks: Storm- 10, RedHawks- 5
Assists: Storm- 51, RedHawks- 42
Digs: Storm- 83, RedHawks- 71
 
Top Storm Performers:
 
Kills: Sophia McKenzie (17, *Career High*), Ni'yah Fuggs (9), Nora Larson (7)
Aces: Kennady Wiley (3, *Career High*), Sophia McKenzie (3, *Career High*), Bella Kessler (2)
Blocks: Kennady Stewart (8, *Career High*), Ni'yah Fuggs (2), Kennady Wiley (1)
Assists: Kylie Anderson (44, *Career High*), Dylan Fox (6), Paige Jestadt (1)
Digs: Paige Jestadt (17, *Career High*), Cecelia Mullen (13), Nicole Colombo (10)
 
The Matchup
 
Lake Erie avenges last year's road loss to Roberts Wesleyan and moves to 5-2 all-time. 
 
Looking Ahead
 
Lake Erie head back on the road and return to G-MAC play going up against Tiffin University on Friday, October 24th at 7 p.m.  
 
Tiffin is currently 5-11 overall and 0-7 in G-MAC play this season. Recently, the Dragons went 3-0 at the Midwest Region Crossover with wins over the GLVC's Upper Iowa and Illinois Springfield and the GLIAC's Saginaw Valley State. In the 2025 preseason poll, the Dragons were picked to finish 4th in the G-MAC North division.