Saranac Lake, which entered Tuesday’s contest following a 3-0 home loss to Beekmantown, used a bit a different lineup from its previous matches. Red Storm head coach Susan Waters said it worked out pretty well, but not necessarily in the opening set as Peru jumped out to a 14-9 lead.

However, Saranac Lake stormed back and were never threatened after taking a 22-21 advantage. Waters said coming from behind might be a signature for her team.

“We like to dig a ditch and crawl back out of it,” she joked.

The Red Storm took command of the second set, before the Nighthawks pulled away in the third to prevent a sweep. Waters put the blame on herself for the third set loss, because of an error she made in the lineup.

Saranac Lake’s Sophie Czadzeck plays a serve during Tuesday’s contest against Peru.
(Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

“But we had some really good defense, and our serving was good,” she said. “We were picking up a lot of balls.”

The two teams traded points back-and-forth in the final set before Saranac Lake steadily took an advantage on the scoreboard to close out the contest.

Libero Lexie Donaldson was once again dominant on the defensive side for the Red Storm, registering a team-high 19 digs to keep the ball in play throughout the match. Abby Isabella added 11 digs, while teammate Melody Costigan had nine. Gracen Foster and MacKenzie Crane each had one block.

“We did have some really good defense,” Waters said. “Melody Costigan had some great plays in the back row and so did Lexie as usual. She was flying all around.”

Four players finished with double digit service points for Saranac Lake. Alice LaDue led the way with 13 points, Donaldson added 12, while Sophie Czadzeck and Emily Gay had 11 points each. The Red Storm had a combined 16 aces in the win.

Saranac Lake’s Emily Gay attempts to block a shot from a Peru player during Tuesday’s match.
(Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

“Our serves were better,” Waters said. “We had some really good serving runs which helped us a lot. But so did they. They had a couple of servers that were tough and I consider my team to be a good passing team, so their servers made us work.”

The last time the two team’s played against one another was back on Sept. 10. That contest saw Saranac Lake leave Peru with a 3-2 victory.

“We only beat them by one set last time,” Waters said. “They’re an evenly matched team, so it’s nice to do it quicker this time.”

The Red Storm, which improved to 7-3 overall, are slated to take on the AuSable Valley Patriots on the road at 6 p.m. today. The team will return home at 6 p.m. Tuesday for a match against the Plattsburgh Hornets.

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Individual Statistics

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SL — Alice LaDue 13 points, 5 aces, 3 digs, 8 assists, 3 kills; Lexie Donaldson 12 points, 3 aces, 19 digs, 1 assist, 3 kills; Whitney Warner 4 kills, 1 dig; Emily Gay 11 points, 4 aces, 5 digs, 1 assist, 2 kills; Abby Isabella 5 points, 1 ace, 11 digs, 1 assist, 2 kills; Gracen Foster 1 dig, 2 assists, 1 kill, 1 block; Sophia McBride 3 digs, 6 kills; Sophie Czadzeck 11 points, 3 aces, 1 dig, 5 assists, 1 kill; Rori Chenaille-Schenk 1 point, 1 ace; MacKenzie Crane 2 kills, 1 block; Marley Logan 1 dig, Melody Costigan 9 digs, 1 point.