POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - Grace's volleyball team pulled one step closer to a national title on Friday night.

The Lancers (23-11) handled College of the Ozarks, the tournament's host school, in four sets to win the NCCAA national semifinal clash.

As a result, Grace will play for the NCCAA national championship on Saturday. The championship bout between Grace and Mid-America Christian is set for 2 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Saturday.

Grace is making its second appearance in team history in the national championship match. The Lancers won the 1995 NCCAA crown for the program's first national title.

Grace's defense was key to taking down the Bobcats (23-14), who reached the NAIA national tournament this season. For the match, Grace finished with 12 blocks and held Ozarks to a team hitting percentage of .057.

In the first set, Ozarks jumped ahead 6-3 in front of their home crowd.

The Lancers managed to tie the score at 11-11 after a kill from Katie Swanson, but Grace struggled to pull in front. The Bobcats led 17-13 to force Grace's first timeout.

The break worked as Grace rallied back. Jadyn Ross and Alisha Leffring pounded out quick kills to help Grace tie the score at 17s.

The Bobcats countered with two straight points of their own, using that momentum to pull away for a 25-20 victory. Ozarks had 13 kills in the set while Grace hurt itself with seven attack errors.

Grace responded well after losing its first set of the tournament. The Lancers immediately grabbed a 9-3 lead in the second set, boosted by two kills apiece from Leffring and Livia Tate.

The Bobcats tried to generate a rally, but Grace was too powerful in the set. The Lancers rolled to a 25-17 win to even the match. Leffring had a kill and a block on the final two plays of the set.

The Bobcats earned the first separation of the third set, pulling ahead 13-9. Grace was undaunted, scoring five straight points to surge ahead. Sahara Bee had two kills during the spurt, and Emma Blackford served up an ace.

The teams exchanged nervy points down the stretch; Cassadi Colbert and Leffring had two kills each to keep Grace's offense rolling.

The Bobcats found a slight advantage late at 22-21, but Leffring's block on the next point evened the score.

Grace then turned to Jadyn Ross, and the junior delivered. Ross pounded out three straight kills to hand Grace an emphatic 25-22 victory.

In the fourth set, Grace rattled off six unanswered points, sparked by a kill and ace from Ross.

But the Bobcats were not prepared to go down without a battle. Ozarks kept pressure on Grace, eventually slicing Grace's lead down to 22-21.

But Grace won the final three points thanks to two Bobcat miscues and a block from Leffring, clinching the semifinal victory with a 25-21 win.

Ross produced a big double-double of 12 kills and 18 digs, and Leffring also impressed with 11 kills, 2 solo blocks and 3 block assists.

Tate was instrumental in Grace's defense with seven block assists to go along with four kills, and Colbert racked up a season-high 11 kills with a pair of block assists.

Swanson finished with 7 kills, 3 block assists and 3 digs, and Bee added 6 kills, 3 block assists and 6 digs.

Morgan Syoen (22 assists, 12 digs, 2 kills) and Riley Owens (18 assists, 7 digs) directed Grace's offense against a stingy Bobcat team.

McKenzie Stakely and Liz Schmidt led Grace's back row with 21 digs apiece, and Blackford added five digs and an ace.