Joe Kline / The Bulletin Summit’s Renee Kenneally spikes the ball past Bend’s Tatiana Ensz during Thursday night’s match at Summit High School. The Storm took a 25-20, 25-21, 25-22 victory over the Lava Bears.

This was a goal Summit had set.

And the Storm scratched off that task, defeating their crosstown rival, at a primetime moment.

In an Intermountain Conference battle between two of the top teams in Class 5A, Summit sprinted past Bend High 25-20, 25-21, 25-22 on Thursday night, giving the Storm a slight edge over the Lava Bears atop the IMC volleyball standings.

“We did a good job of executing our game plan, and that was crucial for us,” Summit coach Jill Waskom said. “The girls really brought it tonight. They played with good intensity and good energy.”

Renee Kenneally paced No. 5 Summit (6-1 IMC) with 14 kills, while Haley Smith chipped in with 13 kills. Jordan Waskom finished with three aces on 15-of-16 serving to go along with 38 assists and 10 digs, and Brenna Roy contributed with 12 digs.

This was the best I’ve seen (the Storm) play,” Bend coach Kristin Cooper said. “They definitely brought their ‘A’ game tonight. … They were just on fire.”

The second-ranked Lava Bears (5-1) totaled 51 digs and 13 blocks as a team, spreading 23 kills evenly throghout the lineup.

“Honestly, I think the girls left everything they could out on the court,” Cooper said, noting that the setback should light a fire within the Lava Bears. “If we just learn from this and move on and take the things that we need to do better and execute it a little bit better, then we’ll be back.”

Summit is off until its IMC finale at Mountain View next Thursday, while Bend faces two league foes next week, setting up a thrilling final week to decide the IMC champion.

“We continue to improve, and that’s the nice thing about having a young team is they just keep moving forward and hopefully we peak at the right moment,” Waskom said. “I feel like we’re moving toward our peak.”