Pepper Pike, OH--The Ursuline College volleyball team took the opening set before falling to Lake Erie, 3-1, in a Great Midwest Athletic Conference matchup Saturday.
The Arrows (2-17, 0-7 G-MAC) dropped the final three sets to the Storm (7-9, 4-5 G-MAC) by scores of 25-18, 22-25, 12-25, and 22-25.
The opening set featured an early back-and-forth battle as Lake Erie built an 11-9 lead. Ursuline responded with a 5-1 run to take the lead before extending its advantage with five straight points for a 20-15 edge. The Arrows closed the set with four unanswered points to take a 1-0 lead.
UC carried its momentum into the second set, opening with a 13-11 advantage. The Storm responded with a 9-3 run to take a 20-16 lead. With a 4-0 run, including two kills and an ace from Ellie Zoeckler, Ursuline battled back to tie the set at 20-20. Lake Erie regained control, however, and closed out the set to even the match at 1-1.
The Storm controlled the third set from the start, jumping out to an 8-3 lead. Ursuline responded with a 4-1 run, but Lake Erie answered with a dominant 16-5 run to close the set and take a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set featured another back-and-forth battle, with Lake Erie maintaining a slim advantage throughout. With the Storm holding match point at 24-18, Ursuline needed a strong finish to force a fifth set. The Arrows responded with four consecutive points to cut the deficit to 24-22, but Lake Erie ended the match with a block.
Ursuline held a slim 49-48 advantage in kills, while Lake Erie recorded a 30-14 edge in attack errors.
The Arrows also held a 9-6 advantage in service aces, while both teams recorded eight blocks. Ursuline finished with a 45-41 edge in assists, and both teams totaled 61 digs.
Zoeckler paced the Arrows with 17 kills and six service aces. Reagan Michalski added eight kills while hitting .400, and Kimora Hansbrough finished with seven kills.
Madison Morris and Hansbrough each recorded five block assists.
Sophia Serrano led Ursuline with 19 assists, while Vada Belt added 15. Mya Jackson paced the defensive effort with 23 digs, while Serrano contributed nine.
Up next: Ursuline travels to North Canton next Tuesday, taking on Walsh in G-MAC action at 6:00 p.m.
