WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's volleyball team and Mt. Vernon Nazarene had an instant classic at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center on Friday.

The Lady Lancers fell behind twice in the match by a set. Grace's rally came up a few points short, however, as the Cougars escaped in a thrilling fifth set to win 3-2.

The Cougars, who are receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, had their hands full with the Lady Lancers. Grace finished the match with 6 more kills, 6 more assists, 5 more aces, 6 more digs and 7 more block points.

But the Cougars (26-6, 11-6 Crossroads League) made plays when it mattered to secure the match in five.

Grace began the match on a strong note with a pair of early kills from Alisha Leffring to grab an 8-3 lead.

MVNU pushed back several times to tie the score, but Grace still led 22-18 in the latter stages of the set.

The Cougars pounded out five kills over the closing moments, rallying to win in extra points 26-24. MVNU ended the set on an 8-2 charge.

Grace had a slow start to the second set but soon sparked to life. The Lady Lancers began to find a rhythm on offense, leaning on Katie Swanson and Cassadi Colbert early and often. 

The duo combined for nine kills in the second set as Grace roared to a 25-19 win. The Lady Lancers amassed 17 kills thanks to 12 assists from Morgan Syoen.

Midway into the third set, MVNU rattled off seven unanswered points. Grace responded with a 7-1 spurt of its own to tie the score at 14. Livia Tate had three blocks and a kill during that stretch.

But the Cougars used another late spurt (4-2) to sneak away late for a 25-22 win.

The Lady Lancers had another strong response in the fourth set. Grace erupted for a 10-1 lead to begin the set and held off any comeback to cruise to a 25-19 win. Colbert's four kills paced Grace in the set as MVNU was held to nine kills as a team.

Colbert was dominant to begin the fifth set again for Grace. She tallied five kills in quick succession, powering Grace to a 10-6 lead.

But the Cougars calmly countered by winning seven of the next eight rallies to grab a 13-11 advantage.

MVNU served for the match at 14-12, but Grace escaped both match points thanks to an attack error by MVNU and a kill by Jadyn Ross.

The Cougars made it final, however, ending the match with a kill and an ace for the final 16-14 score.

Colbert tied for match honors with 19 kills, hitting at a .240 percentage. Ross posted a big double-double of 11 kills and 17 digs.

Leffring hit 13 kills at a .310 percentage to go along with six block assists, and Tate had eight kills and three block assists.

Syoen tallied 43 assists, 11 digs and 4 kills, and Swanson had seven kills and six block assists.

Grace Erwin had 23 digs, Liz Schmidt had 10 digs, and Paige Vander Goot had 11 digs and four aces.

The Lady Lancers are back home on Saturday for the home finale. Grace will host Huntington at 3 p.m. Grace will also honor its seniors prior to the match as part of its Senior Day celebration.