WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's volleyball team was in the driver's seat on Saturday against Bethel.

But the Pilots recovered from an 0-2 deficit, rallying to top the Lady Lancers 3-2 at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.

Grace struggled to deal with Bethel's block at the net. The Pilots (6-1, 6-1 Crossroads League) racked up 18 blocks in the five-set victory; the Lady Lancers as a result hit at a .047 percentage. 

The match could not have started better for Grace as the Lady Lancers (5-2, 5-2 CL) won the first two sets.

In the opening set, strong serving from Gina Novotny helped Grace to an 8-3 lead. Bethel called timeout, but the tactic did not slow the Lady Lancers as Grace eased ahead 13-3.

The teams traded points for the rest of the set as Grace won 25-17. Anna Frey had four kills in the set.

Bethel jumped ahead to start the second set 11-4, but Grace was prepared. The Lady Lancers unleashed a 10-3 run to tie the score, 

Three straight kills from Cassadi Colbert gave Grace an edge, and the Lady Lancers coasted to a six-point win. Katie Swanson picked up five kills in the second set.

The Pilots responded with two dominant sets. Bethel surged ahead early in each set to set the tone. 

In the third set, the Pilots led 7-0 en route to a 25-14 win. In the fourth set, Bethel scored the first eight points in a 25-15 win.

Grace seemed to recover at the start of the tiebreaker set, picking up a 6-4 lead.

But the Pilots continued their assault, winning eight of the next 10 rallies. Grace could not slow down Bethel and fell 15-10 in the decisive set.

Colbert led Grace with nine kills and three block assists, and Gabbey Harrington had 39 assists, 7 digs and 4 kills.

Novotny led all players with 16 digs, and Julia Nagy tallied 15 digs.

The Lady Lancers are on the road next week, starting with Goshen on Wednesday at 7 p.m.