Volleyball overpowered by formidable Coe squad

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Volleyball was blanked by a potent Coe squad in straight sets (25-17, 25-14, 25-20) as Simpson struggled, finishing with a dismal .000 kill percentage for the night.

Simpson’s difficulties began right off the bat in the first set, committing nine errors on their way to a mere .022 kill percentage. Neither team got much of a rhythm going, although Coe managed to take advantage of a Simpson squad that didn’t hit for a percentage any higher than .026 for any set Tuesday.

Simpson (10-13, 1-4 IIAC) showed some late life in the third set, coming back to trail by only one point at 21-20. Coe closed strong though, finishing the match on a 4-0 run on their way to their 20th win for the season as they continue to receive votes for the national ranking.

Coe (20-5, 5-0 IIAC) was lead by Rachel Bosworth, who finished with 11 kills, the only player on either side of the net in double-digits for kills. Allisa Wittenburg lead with 16 digs and Mackenzie Harbaugh served up a match-high 30 assists.

The Storm statline was the weakest of the season at an anemic 28 points. Tabitha Blaser had a team-high nine kills, while freshman Elisa Wildy, who has been good of late, did not record a point.

Katie Kieffer lead with 22 assists as freshman Kayla Aronow contributed with 18 digs.

This was the seventh time Simspson has been shutout on the season, and the second time in as many games.

Simpson, who is 1-4 in the IIAC, is currently in seventh place in the IIAC, with a tiebreaking loss separating them with sixth place Luther who is also 1-4. Simpson will need to finish at least sixth to qualify for the IIAC tournament with only two conference matches remaining.

The Storm will have one more chance to play in front of their home-crowd next Tuesday as they host Loras College at 7:30 p.m.