HUNTINGTON, Ind. - Grace's volleyball team posted a 3-1 road win at Huntington on Saturday to wrap up the regular season.
The Lancers (19-10, 10-8 Crossroads League) used a dominant defensive display to shut down the Foresters (16-14, 6-12 CL). Huntington was muted to a .032 hitting percentage for the match, while Grace racked up 58 kills (.159 percentage).
Grace began the match in a 4-1 hole but wasted little time pulling in front 8-7.
Midway into the first set, the Lancers powered ahead with a 9-3 surge; Anna Ballengee produced three kills during Grace's spurt.
The Foresters countered with a 4-0 run, but Grace ripped off four straight in response. Katie Swanson and Jadyn Ross helped finish the set with late kills as Grace won 25-19.
In the second set, Grace jumped into a 9-4 lead; Alisha Leffring had a part in two blocks in a row to spark the hot start.
Before long, Grace had built its advantage to 19-12 before Huntington came racing back. The Foresters used a 6-1 run to slash Grace's lead to two.
But Grace slammed the door by winning the final points en route to a 25-18 victory.
The Foresters prevented the sweep by pulling out a 25-22 win in the third set, but Grace had an emphatic answer in the fourth set.
The Lancers won the first four points of the fourth set and handled the Foresters to the tune of a 25-15 win.
Swanson enjoyed a balanced afternoon with a match-high 13 kills to go along with two block assists, and Ballengee had 10 kills, 8 digs and 2 block assists.
Sahara Bee finished with 8 kills, 2 solo blocks and 3 block assists, Ross had 7 kills, 9 digs, 1 solo block and 3 block assists, and Livia Tate had seven kills and a pair of block assists.
Liz Schmidt led all players with 23 digs, and Alisha Leffring tallied six kills and three block assists.
Morgan Syoen had a double-double with 22 assists and 16 digs, Riley Owens had 29 assists and eight digs, and McKenzie Stakely chipped in eight digs.
The Lancers finished the regular season fifth in the league standings. Grace will travel to No. 17 Bethel on Nov. 4 for the quarterfinals of the Crossroads League; the Pilots are the No. 4 seed in next week's tourney.
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