MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Grace's volleyball team came up short in a matchup with No. 23 Mt. Vernon Nazarene on Friday, falling in four sets.

Grace battled to a dramatic extra-points win in the third set, but the Cougars' defense kept Grace quiet on offense.

The Lancers were held to 32 kills on a .008 percentage while MVNU had 48 kills at a .200 clip.

Grace was slow out of the gate in the first and second sets. The Lancers fell behind 10-4 in the first set and lost by 10. 

The second set was similar as the Lancers trailed 13-5 and lost by 12.

The third set began similarly as MVNU won the first five points. But kills from Anna Ballengee and Cassadi Colbert helped Grace get back on track.

Two early blocks from Alisha Leffring also gave Grace a boost as the Lancers rallied to tie the score at 8-8.

The Cougars tried to pull away with an 18-12 cushion, but the Lancers were not prepared to be swept.

Emma Blackford served up two key aces on back-to-back serves as the Lancers pulled even at 23s.

The teams then traded points as the set headed to extra points. Grace survived a match point thanks to a kill from Ballengee, and the Cougars had attack errors on the next two points as the Lancers pulled out the 28-26 victory.

Unfortunately for Grace, the Lancers began the fourth set slowly as well. The Cougars jumped in front 6-1 and never looked back; MVNU ended the match with an 11-point win.

Colbert and Ballengee tied for the team lead with seven kills; Colbert had eight digs as well.

Leffring finished with six kills and three solo blocks, and Katie Swanson finished with six kills.

Sahara Bee tallied five kills, Morgan Syoen had 10 digs and 10 assists, Liz Schmidt added 10 digs.

The Lancers have one more match left in the regular season — on the road on Saturday against Huntington at 3 p.m.

Grace can secure fifth place in the Crossroads League standings with a win against Huntington.