MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – In the opening match of the Crossroads League season, Grace's volleyball team was stifled by Mt. Vernon Nazarene in a 3-0 defeat.

The Lady Lancers (5-4, 0-1 CL) struggled offensively to a .099 hitting percentage, tallying 11 fewer kills than the Cougars on the road.

In the first game, Grace held a slight 15-12 advantage at the midway mark. But the Cougars (6-0, 1-0 CL) took hold of the set and never looked back. Grace had five attack errors down the stretch as Mt. Vernon ended the game on a 13-2 charge to win by eight.

It was Grace's turn to make a comeback in the second game. Mt. Vernon burst out to a 13-2 lead to start the set, but the Lady Lancers found their rhythm. Grace had its best offensive series of the night to take a 19-18 lead late in the game. Grace Woolsey and Kelsee Zuidema had three kills apiece during Grace's 17-5 run. But the Cougars recovered and held on for a narrow 25-23 win in the potential swing set.

The third set saw a tied score at 16-16 before the Cougars found another timely run. Mt. Vernon sped through two timeouts by Grace over the final timely points, ending the match by winning nine of the last 12 rallies.

Tori Bontrager led Grace's offense with seven kills on a .429 percentage. Woolsey produced six kills on 10 attempts, adding one solo block and three block assists.

Laken Chaney passed out 28 assists with 11 digs and three kills, Sara Miller tallied 18 digs, and Marta Bleed chipped in six kills. Kaitlin Kerrigan and Caylie Teel notched 11 digs each.

Overall for the match, Mt. Vernon had 11 more kills and 15 more digs. Grace did finish with eight block points.

The Lady Lancers travel to Lima, Ohio over the weekend for a tournament at Northwestern Ohio.