INDIANOLA - The Buena Vista volleyball team went on the road for the first time during American Rivers Conference play this season, and the Beavers came away with their second straight league victory after rallying back two win the fourth and fifth sets and hold off Simpson, 18-25, 25-21, 20-25, 28-26, 15-11.

Sophomore Sydney McLaren tied for a match-high with 17 kills while freshman Kaitie Serkiz was right behind with 16 kills and just five errors.  Hannah Smith was the third Beaver in double figures, posting 11 overall.  McLaren capped off her double-double with 19 digs while freshman Taylor Wedemeyer also added a double-double of her own with 40 assists and 12 digs.  Senior Summer Goss led all players with a match-high 27 digs and falling just short of her own double-double with eight assists.

After dropping the first set, BVU bounced back nicely and evened the match at 1-1.  It fell behind 6-0 early in the third before fighting all the way back to square things at 15-15 but the Storm pulled away late in the set for a 25-1 win.

The Beavers appeared in control to force a decisive fifth set after going up 23-19 in the fourth, but the Storm pushed BVU to the limit, coming all the way back to tie things at 23-23.  The Beavers then faced set point four times before they finally pulled out the 28-26 triumph.  The final set was back-and-forth from the opening serve before the Beavers rolled off four straight to take the set and the match.  It was only the team's fourth win in Indianola in 13 match-ups since 2003.

"What a roller coaster of a match," said BVU head coach Aubrey Havlichek.  "We continue to prove to ourselves that good things happen when we make the decision to play our tempo and as a unit. We also continue to prove how we can be our own worst enemies.  I'm extremely proud of this young team for sealing a five-set conference win.  Jade Hays was lights out at the serving line with four aces and only one error."

Hannah Lester had 17 kills to lead Simpson which fell to 8-9 overall and 0-3 in conference play.

Buena Vista has now won consecutive league matches to improve to 2-1 while improving to 5-10 overall.  The team will take a trip to the upper peninsula this weekend and take part in the SISU Classic, hosted by Finlandia.  BVU takes on the host school on Friday, October 4, at 7 p.m. before playing Grace Christian (10 a.m.) and Mount Mary (12 p.m.) on Saturday, October 5.