WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Grace's volleyball team gave No. 15 Marian a battle on Saturday at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.

The Lady Lancers nearly forced a fifth set despite falling behind 2-0, ultimately losing in four sets.

The Knights (28-1, 16-1 Crossroads League) are on a 17-match winning streak, but Grace almost put that streak to end at the MOCC. Marian's offense proved too strong, however, with a 60-41 advantage in kills.

Marian got off to a fast start, winning the first set by 10 and the second by 13. The Knights amassed 29 kills and just four attacking errors during those two wins.

But Grace showed resolve with a third-set victory. The Lady Lancers trailed 10-9, but Grace erupted with a 13-3 charge to take control. Corynne Aelker and Makaela Lochmueller each had two kills in the spurt. Grace also had four aces during the run — two from Jadyn Block and one apiece from Emily Sharp and Grace Erwin.

The Knights rallied, winning nine of the next 11 points to chop Grace's margin to 24-22. But Makayla Bell and Aelker secured the set victory with a block point on the next play.

The fourth set was the most tightly contested. The Lady Lancers (15-17, 9-8 CL) owned a three-point lead at 13-10, but Marian surged ahead late to take a commanding 23-18 lead.

Grace refused to go down without a fight. The Lady Lancers scored four straight and won two match points thanks to a timely kill from Lochmueller to tie the score at 24-24.

Grace managed to survive one more match point, but Marian's attack was too much in the end with a 27-25 victory.

Gina Novotny produced 29 digs, which was 11 digs more than any other player on the court. Lochmueller tallied 13 kills on a .393 percentage, and Aelker added 12 kills, 3 digs and 2 block assists.

Anna Frey notched six kills in her first return from a lengthy absence (injury), and Alexa Hill had a double-double of 24 assists and 15 digs.

Erwin and Caroline Mayer each had 11 digs, Sharp finished with four aces and eight digs, and Block chipped in with 5 kills, 6 digs and 2 aces.

The Lady Lancers end the regular season at home on Wednesday. Grace hosts Huntington at 7 p.m. Wednesday's match will also be Senior Night to honor the graduating class of Deborah Michalski, Hill and Mayer.

Grace is currently sixth in the league standings. A win on Wednesday would move Grace into a three-way tie for fourth, but the Lady Lancers would still get the No. 6 seed by virtue of the tiebreakers.