Simpson starts strong with 3-0 sweep of Macalester

PELLA, Iowa - The Simpson women's volleyball team opened the 2025 season in style, sweeping Macalester 25-20, 25-18, 25-13 on Friday night at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium.

The Storm (1-0) dominated from the service line with 13 aces and hit .280 as a team. Peyton Mitchell stuffed the stat sheet with six kills, five aces and two solo blocks, while Morgan DenBeste added seven kills, 11 assists and seven digs and Jada Schmidt contributed nine kills and four digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 (Simpson 25, Macalester 20)

• Simpson jumped out to a 10-3 lead thanks to early dominance from Peyton Mitchell, who tallied two aces, two kills and a block.
• Macalester chipped away and got as close as 18-17 before the Storm regrouped.
• Hannah Jansen and Tommie Roberts both served up aces before another block by Mitchell sealed the opener 25-20.

Set 2 (Simpson 25, Macalester 18)

• DenBeste set the tone with a kill on the first point, and Simpson never trailed.
• Lauren Dockendorff and Schmidt each dropped in service aces as the Storm stretched the lead to 12-6.
• Macalester cut it to 18-14, but Simpson answered with a 7-4 run to close out the set.

Set 3 (Simpson 25, Macalester 13)

• The Storm raced ahead 5-0 behind a block from Schmidt and a kill from DenBeste.
• Three aces from Mitchell along with a fourth from Dockendorff put the match out of reach as Simpson led 16-5.
• Emmy Seiler and Schmidt added kills late before Macalester's final error gave Simpson the sweep.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Jada Schmidt: 9 kills, 4 digs, 1 block
• Morgan DenBeste: 7 kills (.583), 11 assists, 7 digs, 2 aces
• Peyton Mitchell: 6 kills (.545), 5 aces, 2 blocks
• Tommie Roberts: 10 digs, 5 assists
• Lauren Dockendorff: 11 assists, 5 digs, 3 aces

NOTES

• The Storm have won their last four season openers.
• This was the first win for head coach Dani Kohut Lynch.
• Simpson takes a 9-8 lead in the head-to-head series with Macalester.

UP NEXT
The Storm take on Bethany Lutheran tomorrow at 11 a.m. The Vikings fell 3-0 to Grinnell tonight.