Storm Holds Off Draft For 3-1 Victory

STUARTS DRAFT – After splitting the first two sets on Thursday, the Staunton Storm won two straight for a 3-1 victory over Stuarts Draft. The Storm won 25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 25-20.

Trailing 15-14 in the opening set, the Storm scored three straight points, one on an ace by Serenity Dhillon, to lead 17-15. A kill by Olivia Reed and an ace by Eden Levin pushed the Storm advantage to 20-16.

Draft closed the margin to one, 20-19, behind kills from Addy Coyner and Lily May, but a combined block by Brittany Davenport and Kennedy Bryant gave Staunton a side-out and a 21-19 lead.

Staunton’s Reed and Draft’s May traded kills to make the score 24-20 before a kill by Bryant closed out the first set for the Storm, 25-20.

A kill by Coyner plus an ace ad a kill by Kylie Morland gave the Cougars a 17-11 lead in the second set, but the Storm rallied to pull within a point. A kill by Saraiah Lassiter and an ace by Lola Rohr cut the Draft margin to 20-19.

A service error ended the Storm run before a block by May and a kill by Morland put Draft ahead 23-19. A kill by Morland off a Storm block closed out the set, 25-22, and evened the match at one set apiece.

Draft led 18-17 in the third set before Lassiter and Brook-Lyn Kittrell took control of the net as the Storm scored the final eight points in a row.

After a Draft service error pulled Staunton even at 18-18, two kills by Lassiter gave the visitors the lead. Two kills by Kittrell and another kill by Lassiter pushed the margin to 23-18. A block by Kittrell made it 24-18 and a Draft attack error ended the set, giving the Storm a 2-1 edge.

Staunton jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the fourth set and maintained the margin the rest of the way. 

A kill by Reed and a block by Kittrell put the Storm up 24-17. Kills by Draft’s Lyla Shifflett and Coyner play an ace by Jaelyn Bain rallied the Cougars to within 24-20 before a bad pass by Draft accounted for the final Staunton point, closing out the match 3-1.

Kittrell led the winners with 14 kills, followed by Lassiter with 10 and Bryant with five. Bryant finished with six blocks while Kittrell added three. Dhillon served a team-high five aces while also adding 10 digs. Kaylan Herron dished out 35 assists and Levin posted a team-high 21 digs.

“Our middles are really playing well,” said Staunton head coach Jody Lohr. “Draft has improved quite a bit, and they are playing some good volleyball. I thought our girls played really well tonight.”

Addyson Dameron led the Cougars with 33 assists and 12 digs. Morland finished with 10 kills and 11 digs while May paced the Cougars with 15 kills and three blocks. Coyner contributed six kills and 11 digs and teammate Rylee Layne finished with eight digs.