DECATUR, Ill. – The Simpson women’s volleyball team went 1-3 on the weekend tournament hosted by Milikin University, losing to UW-Platteville, Wheaton (Ill.), and Milikin while winning their only match against Blackburn.

Friday, Oct. 24

Match 1: Simpson 1, UW-Platteville 3 (25-23, 21-25, 19-25, 12-15)

After jumping out to take the first set, 25-23, Simpson (11-14) dropped the remaining three sets to UW-Platteville (13-14).

Jennifer Schmidt lead all players with 18 kills and 20 points while finishing with a .268 kills percentage.

Surprisingly, no player for Platteville finished with above 18 assists, while Lindsay Decker lead with 12 digs.

Simpson had a difficult time getting things going on their side of the net. Tabitha Blaser lead the way with only 7 kills. Katie Kieffer finished with a team high 18 assists.

Match 2: Simpson 1, Wheaton 3 (25-23, 16-25, 12-25, 18-25)

Things went in a similar fashion in the nightcap on Friday, with Simpson (11-15) winning the first set 25-23, while dropping the final three sets to a Wheaton team that is only 9-17 on the season.

Shelby Knowles and Andy DeMoss both finished with 13 kills to lead the way for the Thunder as Ashley Torok ended with a team high 26 assists. Knowles didn’t just contribute in the kills category as she also dug out 23 balls.

Once again, junior Tabitha Blaser lead the way for Simpson, accumulating a game-high 14 kills to go along with seven digs. Next up was Olivia Suentic and Elisa Wildy who both finished with seven kills.

Katie Kieffer served up 29 assists and digs leader for the Storm, Kayla Aronow, had 19 digs.

Match 3: Simpson 3, Blackburn 0 (25-12, 25-9, 25-8)

The Storm earned their first win of the weekend as they took down Blackburn College (3-27) in straight sets.

No Blackburn player had more than three kills as they hit only -.159 for the day.

Simpson (12-15) wasn’t overwhelming but received enough to take advantage of a struggling Blackburn team. Elisa Wildy lead the team with 11 kills through a .667 kill percentage. Freshman, Jacqueline Luth was next up finishing with 11 points and seven kills.

Match 4: Simpson 0, Millikin 3 (25-19, 25-18, 25-22)

Simpson (12-16) met their toughest opponent yet during the weekend, as they were routed three sets to none by the host team, the Milikin Blue Jays.

Audrey Krajec’s 19 kills was too much to handle as No. 18 Milikin (27-5) finished with a blistering .390 kills percentage for the match.

Tabitha Blaser had herself another great performance as she lead the Storm with 17 kills.

Olivia Suentic lead Simpson in digs with 10, the first time she has done so this season.

Freshman Jacquline Luth ended up being selected to the all-tournament team for the weekend after her well-rounded performance wit 20 kills, five aces and six blocks.

Simpson will have a very important matchup this Tuesday as they head to Pella to take on Central College as they look to secure the final spot in the IIAC Tournament.