Lake Erie College

Painesville, Ohio - The Lake Erie College volleyball team concluded its five-match homestand Friday night, falling in straight sets to the visiting Ashland University Eagles, 25-6, 25-21, and 25-17. 

The Eagles' defense took the Storm out of system for much of the night, registering 20 block assists and one solo block as Lake Erie totaled just 19 kills against 18 errors. 

Nora Larson led the Storm with six kills, while Allison Kirch added five kills and two aces. Bella Kessler matched Kirch with a pair of aces to accompany a match-high 18 digs. 

After the Eagles ran away with the first set, Lake Erie played much more competitively over the final two stanzas. 

The Storm led the second set 14-12 following an ace from Kessler, but a 7-2 Ashland response gave them a 19-16 cushion and forced an LEC timeout. Lake Erie would claim the next point following the restart but would get no closer than two points the rest of the way. 

Ashland grabbed a quick 7-1 lead to start the third set, but Lake Erie wouldn't go down without a fight, clawing back to within three at 13-10. The Storm tightened the deficit down to two at 17-15, but Ashland would not be denied the sweep as it held LEC to just two points for the remainder of the match. 

The Storm have dropped three matches, falling back to 5-8 overall and 3-4 in the G-MAC, while Ashland moved to 11-2 and remained perfect in the conference at 5-0. 

Lake Erie will have another chance at the Eagles on Tuesday night as the Storm make the short trek south for a 6 p.m. match.