Lucia Gómez de Luis hammered down a career-high 18 kills, Jada Schmidt posted her second straight double-double, and the Simpson College women’s volleyball team outlasted Central in a five-set battle inside Cowles Fieldhouse.

Gómez de Luis and Schmidt combined for 33 of the Storm’s 58 kills as Simpson improved to 13-3 overall and 2-0 in American Rivers Conference play for the first time since 2021.

After dropping the opening set 27-25 in extras, the Storm roared back with convincing 25-17 and 25-16 wins to grab a 2-1 edge. Central (13-6, 1-1 A-R-C) answered in the fourth, 25-22, to force a deciding frame. Simpson broke away with a 5-0 run in the fifth and Gómez de Luis delivered in the clutch with multiple late kills to lock up the 15-11 set and the 3-2 victory.