Canton, Ohio - The Lake Erie College volleyball team made short work of the Malone University Pioneers in its first Great Midwest Athletic Conference match of the season, earning a three-set sweep by scores of 25-21, 25-17 and 25-16.
The result marks the fourth time in the last five meetings that Lake Erie has defeated Malone.
Allison Kirch continued her torrid play, leading the way with 11 kills.
Kennedy Stewart was uber-efficient, hammering home eight kills on 11 swings with just one error en route to posting a .636 attack percentage.
Sadie Nawrocki also added five kills in the win.
Kylie Anderson had the offense in system, delivering 25 assists and adding four kills to go along with a pair of aces, two block assists and four digs.
Bella Kessler led the back row with 15 digs, while Kirch also did her part to aid the effort with 10 of her own.
Ni'yah Fuggs dominated at the net, finishing with three total blocks, including one solo.
An early 5-0 burst that featured two of
Dylan Fox's three aces gave the Storm a 10-5 lead in the opening set. Lake Erie led 22-14, but it got a little scary for a moment as the Pioneers rallied to cut the lead to two, 23-21, before LEC finished off the first-set win.
The second set was tied at 11-11, but Lake Erie was able to create some separation with a 7-1 run and was never threatened again.
The Storm wasted no time leaving any doubt about the eventual outcome as they jumped all over the Pioneers in the third set, building a 13-3 advantage and cruising to victory the rest of the way.
Lake Erie recorded a season-high nine service aces in the win while holding Malone to just a .066 attack percentage, the lowest mark of any Storm opponent this season.
LEC (3-4, 1-0 G-MAC) is back in action tomorrow at Walsh University. The first serve is set for noon.
