BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Greenville University battled throughout Friday afternoon but came up short against Simpson College, falling 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 27-25) at the Shirk Center.
The Panthers (5-4) responded after dropping the opening set, evening the match with a strong second-set performance before Simpson (6-2) captured the final two frames in a tightly contested contest. The fourth set featured five ties and several momentum swings before the Storm closed out the match with a 27-25 victory.
Greenville was led offensively by
Abby Grohmann, who recorded a match-high 17 kills.
Sierrah Downey added 16 kills while hitting .234, and
Kennedy Legendre turned in one of her most efficient performances of the season with 12 kills and a .323 hitting percentage.
Alyssa Company chipped in nine kills.
Setter
Emma Ratermann directed the Panther offense with 43 assists, while
Claudia Bonacorsi contributed seven assists and three service aces. Defensively, Bonacorsi led all players with 24 digs, followed by
Laney Baldrige with 14 and Ratermann with 12. At the net, Greenville totaled 10 team blocks, paced by Legendre's four block assists and Reckling's five total blocks.
Despite being outhit by Simpson .235 to .167, the Panthers stayed within striking distance throughout the match. Greenville posted its best offensive set in the fourth, hitting .246 with 18 kills and only three errors, but Simpson answered with a .327 hitting percentage in the decisive frame.
Simpson was powered by Makenzie Sloan's 21 kills and received balanced offensive production from four players who finished with at least seven kills. The Storm also held a 95-80 advantage in digs and recorded 16 team blocks.
Greenville will look to bounce back as the Panthers continue tournament play this weekend.
