FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Grace's volleyball team kicked off the 2023 season in style, winning both of its matches at the Onset Tournament at Memorial Coliseum.

The Lancers swept Rochester in the first match of the tournament, then closed out the day with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Lawrence Tech.

Grace impressed in its season opening sweep of Rochester on Friday. Grace showcased balance in the first set, attacking with efficiency and blocking well. Rochester gained the early advantage with three straight points to kick off the set.

But the Lancers soon found their footing and clawed in front for good. A pair of aces from Emma Blackford helped Grace win the next six points, and the Lancers never trailed again. Grace rolled to a 25-14 win in the opener.

Jadyn Ross erupted for six kills in the first set to go along with three digs, and Alisha Leffring had four kills and three block points.

In the second set, Grace found itself ahead 15-10. But the Warriors responded with nine unanswered points (sparked by three aces) to climb on top and force a Grace timeout.

Grace was undaunted, rallying late to tie the score at 23-23 and take momentum back thanks to back-to-back kills from Sahara Bee. The Lancers ended the set with three straight points, using timely kills from Anna Ballengee and Alisha Leffring to win the set 26-24. Katie Swanson's five kills in the set led the charge.

Rochester did its best to avoid the sweep, pulling ahead late in the third set 21-18. But Grace showed resilience to even the score at 21-21 and force a Rochester timeout.

The break did not help the Warriors as Grace powered its way to a 25-22 victory to finish off the sweep.

Leffring finished with a match-high 12 kills on a .370 percentage; she added a solo block and three block assists.

Ross posted a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs, and Katie Swanson and Livia Tate posted identical stat lines with eight kills and two block assists.

Morgan Syoen tallied 27 assists and eight digs, Riley Owens had 17 assists and seven digs, Emma Blackford served up three aces, and McKenzie Stakely led all players with 17 digs.

In the second match of the day, Grace collected its second win versus Lawrence Tech.

The Lancers gained an early edge during the first set thanks to their stout blocking. Grace had four quick block points in the early stages to push Grace ahead 10-5.

The middle portions of the set were hard fought, but eventually Grace's block proved too heavy to handle. The Lancers amassed seven block points in the set, leading to a 25-16 win. Bee had four block assists, and Leffring tallied one solo and three block assists.

Grace won the first five points of the second set, but LTU countered quickly to regain the lead.

Midway into the set, Grace used a 7-1 spurt to gain separation; Ballengee had three straight kills to spark the run.

The Lancers managed to sustain that slight lead, using a block by Bee and Tate on the final play to win 25-20.

The Blue Devils claimed the lead to begin the third set. LTU surged ahead 13-5 as Grace's offense struggled to find its rhythm. The Lancers were never able to recover and fell 25-16.

In the fourth set, LTU again grabbed an early cushion at 7-2. But sharp serving from Owens and three kills from Ross propelled the Lancers to seven unanswered points. Grace grabbed an 11-8 edge and forced LTU to burn a timeout.

The timeout did little to slow Grace's momentum; the Lancers flew ahead 17-10, capping off a ferocious 15-3 run.

The Blue Devils did their best to bridge the gap, but the damage was already done. Grace finished off the match 25-19, ending the set with a kill from Ballengee.

Ballengee paced Grace's offense with 10 kills on a .240 percentage. Leffring added nine kills on a .318 percentage.

Owens produced 18 assists, 15 digs and 2 blocks, and Stakely amassed a match-high 21 digs.

Syoen finished with 17 assists and eight digs, Ross tallied 12 digs and seven kills, and Katie Swanson had seven kills.

The Lancers will end the tournament with two matches on Saturday, including 9 a.m. against Northwestern Ohio and 3:30 p.m. against No. 7 Viterbo.