GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Grace's volleyball team picked up a split on the first day of the Aquinas/Cornerstone Invitational.
The Lancers fell to the home team Aquinas in a hard-fought four setter before ending the day with a sweep of IU South Bend.
The win improves Grace to 8-2 on the season, tied for the team's best start since 2013.
In the opening set against Aquinas, Grace fell behind early and never recovered. The Saints won the first five points to help secure the win.
Grace's offense was muted in the first set to a .032 hitting percentage. Aquinas, on the other hand, had 13 first-set kills.
The Lancers were unable to get on track during the second set, either, falling by 11 points.
Grace recovered well the rest of the match and put significant pressure on the Saints.
Early in the third set, Grace won four straight points to earn a cushion. Grace's lead grew to seven before the Saints furiously rallied to even the score at 22-22.
But the Lancers produced three straight clutch kills, including one from Riley Owens and two more from Anna Ballengee to win 25-22.
Aquinas held a slight edge for much of the fourth set, eventually leading to a 21-15 advantage.
Grace showed resolve, however, winning six unanswered points to tie the score. Paige Vander Goot had two aces in the spurt, and Morgan Syoen, Jadyn Ross and Livia Tate each had kills.
But the Saints used a pair of kills down the stretch to hold on for a 25-23 victory to end the match.
Ross led Grace's offense with seven kills, and Riley Owens had 16 assists, 2 aces and 8 assists.
Katie Swanson notched six kills and four block assists, and McKenzie Stakely had 11 digs.
In the second match of the day, Grace's efficient offense and relentless defense resulted in a sweep of IU South Bend.
The Lancers faced an early deficit in the first set; the Titans grabbed an 8-4 lead and still led 19-16.
But two kills from Alisha Leffring helped the Lancers surge in front. Grace ended the set with an ace from Vander Goot, capping off a 9-2 run as Grace won 25-21.
The Lancers did not trail for the rest of the match. In the second set, Grace held a slight lead for much of the way.
The Titans managed to level the score at 18s, but Ballengee (2 kills) and Sahara Bee (1 kill, 1 block) handed Grace four straight points. Leffring later pounded out two more kills as Grace won again by the score of 25-21.
Grace's momentum carried into the third set as the team won the first four rallies. The Lancers were never truly threatened, building their lead to double digits en route to the 25-15 win.
Grace amassed 35 kills on a .215 percentage while holding IUSB to a .023 hitting percentage. Grace had an impressive 18 block assists and 1 solo block in the match.
Leffring and Bee were dynamic with each player tallying seven kills and five block assists. Swanson had 7 kills, 1 solo block and 2 block assists, and Tate picked up four block assists.
Grace also was dangerous in the serving game with nine aces; Liz Schmidt, McKenzie Stakely and Vander Goot each served two aces.
Owens finished with 16 assists and four digs, Syoen had 15 assists and five digs, and Ballengee notched six kills.
The Lancers end the tournament on Saturday by switching locations to play at Cornerstone. Grace will play St. Francis (Ill.) at 11 a.m. and the hosts Cornerstone at 3 p.m.
