FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Grace's volleyball team was unable to get the better of St. Francis, falling 3-0 on the road Saturday.

The Lady Lancers (15-14, 9-5 Crossroads League) sit in fourth place in the league standings with just four matches left in the regular season.

The first set was tightly contested with neither side able to grab a significant advantage. But with Grace trailing by one at 16-15, the Cougars got hot. USF won nine of the next 12 points to pull away for the win.

USF hit over .400 as a team in the opening set as Grace struggled to slow down the Cougars (19-10, 10-4 CL).

In the second set, the Cougars' momentum continued. USF won the first five points to force an early Grace timeout.

The timeout by coach Katie Van Hofwegen seemed to work; Grace regained its footing and scored four straight points.

But the Cougars would not be denied in the set. USF opened up a seven-point lead. 

Grace managed to fight back and stayed within range. The Lady Lancers trailed at 23-21 but could not fully erase that early deficit in a three-point defeat.

The third set was agonizingly close for Grace. The Lady Lancers overcame a slight deficit down the stretch to tie the score 23-23. USF scored next out of a timeout, but Corynne Aelker staved off a match point with a kill.

The teams traded points again to tie at 25-25. Michalski got a kill to give Grace a 26-25 edge, and she repeated that effort for another lead at 27-26. Michalski got another timely kill for a 29-28 lead.

But Grace was unable to find a winning moment after multiple set points. USF escaped with a 34-32 win, ending the match with an ace.

Aelker's 12 kills led Grace on a .318 percentage, and she added three block assists. Alexa Hill racked up 40 assists, 8 digs, 1 solo block and 3 block assists, and Michalski added 11 kills.

Gina Novotny recorded a match-high 15 digs, Hanna Leach tallied three kills and six block assists, and Jadyn Block added six kills.

The Lady Lancers return home on Wednesday, hosting No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan at 7 p.m.