JOLIET, Ill. - Grace's volleyball team dropped two hard-fought matches to start the Big Guns Classic at USF on Friday.
The Lady Lancers (11-13) fell to the hosts in three close sets to start the day before falling in five to Spring Arbor.
In the opener, Grace was within striking distance in all three sets against St. Francis (Ill.), ultimately falling 25-22, 25-19 and 25-23.
Kelsee Zuidema enjoyed 11 kills on a .417 percentage, adding two block assists and four digs, and Kaitlin Kerrigan had 11 kills and seven digs.
Kari Feddema, Marta Bleed and Savannah Hart each notched five kills apiece, Taylor Baird passed out 30 assists, and Caylie Teel had a team-high 19 digs.
In the second game, Grace nearly recovered from a 2-0 set deficit to beat Spring Arbor in a nonleague match.Â
The Cougars jumped ahead with 25-18, 25-23 wins in the first two sets. But Grace fought back, erupting for a 25-14 win in set three and a narrow 26-24 win in the fourth to set up a tiebreaker.
Spring Arbor made a push in the fifth set, however, and pulled away for a 15-9 win to end the match.
The Lady Lancers end the tournament on Saturday, playing against Trinity Christian and No. 18 Madonna.
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