MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Grace's volleyball team could not finish off a comeback on Tuesday in the Crossroads League opener.

The Lady Lancers lost 3-1 at Mt. Vernon Nazarene despite having six more kills and seven more blocks than the Cougars (9-1, 1-0 Crossroads League).

Anna Frey had a standout performance in her league debut, posting a match-high 16 kills to go along with 21 digs and four block assists.

As a team, Grace had an edge in kills (54 to 48), blocks (12 to 5), assists (48 to 43) and digs (80 to 72).

The Cougars opened up the match by winning four consecutive points, and Grace never recovered to drop the first set 25-15.

The Lady Lancers (2-6, 0-1 CL) started slowly again in the second set and fell behind 6-2. This time, Grace managed to rally. Two kills and a block by Katie Swanson sparked Grace to a 20-18 lead.

But Grace committed four straight unforced errors at that stage to give momentum back to MVNU, and the Cougars took advantage to win 25-23.

The third set was the only one in which Grace did not fall behind at the start. The score remained close, but the Lady Lancers still faced a 19-17 deficit. 

Frey and Makayla Bell stepped up at that junction, however. The Lady Lancers ripped off eight unanswered points to win the set. Frey had two kills and three block assists during that stretch, and Bell added a kill and four block assists.

In the fourth set, the Cougars scored six straight points to take an early edge. A timeout from Katie Van Hofwegen seemed to settle the Lady Lancers, and Grace battled back.

The score was eventually tied at 21-21. The Cougars scored twice in a row and were serving for the match at 24-22. Grace staved off a pair of match points thanks to a kill by Makaela Lochmueller and an ace from Caroline Mayer. But MVNU won the next two points to seal the victory.

Gina Novotny led all players with 22 digs, and Alexa Hill posted a solid stat line of 42 assists, 11 digs and 3 kills.

Lochmueller had 7 kills, 1 solo block and 3 block assists, Bell had three kills and eight block assists, Emily Sharp had 10 digs, and Swanson added seven kills.

The Lady Lancers will play their third tournament of the season this weekend at Lourdes University (Ohio) on Friday and Saturday.