The Southwestern Oregon Community College volleyball team put up a strong fight against top-ranked Chemeketa, but came up short in a four-game match at Salem.

“We fought them pretty good,” Southwestern coach John Speasl said. “They’re a good team.”

The Storm won 25-15, 24-26, 27-25, 25-23 to remain perfect in NWAACC South Region play at 4-0. Southwestern fell to 3-1.

“It was a great match,” Speasl said. “It took two hours. Everybody who walked through the doors got their money’s worth.”

The last three games were close all the way, he said.

“It was anybody’s match at any time, so it was one of those good ones,” Speasl said. “They kind of out-gunned us in a couple of spots.”

Katie Jolliffe had 16 kills for the Lakers, while Rose Mattson, in her first night back after suffering a broken hand, added eight kills. Christie Wisel and Kristine Kosinski combined for another 13 kills.

Setter Jessica Bond had 35 assists, while libero Taylor Scott had 28 digs. Emma Chitwood passed at a 2.5 rating on a 3.0 scale.

“Maria Ciccarelli had a great night,” Speasl said. “She didn’t have huge stats, but she didn’t make mistakes. Everything she played was golden.”

The Lakers suffered one big loss when defensive specialist Laurie Breuer went out with an ankle injury.

Southwestern, which entered the coaches poll in a tie with Tacoma for No. 7 this week, visits Linn-Benton at Albany today.

“The kids are up,” Speasl said. “They know they played well tonight. Nobody is down in the dumps. They are pretty spirited.”