POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - Grace's volleyball team began its NCCAA title defense with a pair of victories on Wednesday.

The Lancers won both of their pool play matches against College of the Ozarks and Lancaster Bible on the opening day of the 2024 NCCAA National Championships. Grace also had Riley Owens reach an impressive career milestone as she eclipsed 2,000 career assists. She is the 7th player in Lancers' history to reach the 2,000 career assists. 

Grace has one pool play match remaining. A win on Thursday against Jessup (3:45pm CT) would give Grace the top finish in its pool. Grace could also advance with a loss, depending on the results of the other matches on Thursday.

Grace began the day by playing the host school, the College of the Ozarks. In the first set, Grace quickly jumped ahead 10-4 in the first set.

The Lancers seemed firmly in control with a 17-10 lead, but the Bobcats were ready to rally. Ozarks pulled to within four and then quickly rattled off five straight points to stun Grace with a 21-20 lead.

Grace called timeout and promptly recovered, scoring two points to reclaim the lead.

But the Bobcats benefited from two attack errors to pull ahead and win the opener 25-23.

The second set was eerily similar. Grace started in front thanks to three quick kills from Jadyn Ross.

The Lancers built a commanding 10-3 lead and eventually led 18-10. But again, the Bobcats had a late rally in store.

Ozarks charged back with seven unanswered points to chop Grace's lead down to one.

This time, the Lancers refused to surrender the lead. Ross earned a kill on the final play as Grace evened the match with a 25-21 victory.

The third set was a break from the norm. The teams could hardly be separated for much of the set. Ozarks was in prime position with a 21-19 lead.

But out of a timeout, Grace seized control of the match. The Lancers scored five straight points and won the set 25-22 on a kill from Voss.

Grace had 56 kills in the match, 11 more than Ozarks. Ross produced a match-high 15 kills on a .278 percentage, adding six digs and two block assists.

Voss had 12 kills, 1 solo block and 5 block assists, and Ballengee notched 10 kills on a .226 percentage.

Morgan Syoen had a double-double with 13 assists and 11 digs, and Riley Owens added 24 assists and nine digs.

Sahara Bee collected 6 kills, 6 digs and 5 block assists, Liz Schmidt tallied 13 digs, and McKenzie Stakely added 12 digs.

Grace closed the day with a sweep of Lancaster Bible.

The Lancers used an early 5-0 run in the first set to gain separation from LBC. The Chargers rallied to tie the score, but Grace never relinquished the lead.

A pair of late kills from Leah Henderson proved to be timely, and the Lancers won the opener 25-22.

The Chargers quickly fell behind in the second set after Grace scored the first eight points. Anna Elkin was the common denominator with five kills across Grace's 8-0 run.

The Lancers waltzed away to a 25-18 win in the second set; Grace had 15 kills in the set while hitting at a .312 percentage.

Grace scored the first four points of the third set for another fast start. The Lancers maintained a sizable lead throughout the set, ending the match with a 25-18 victory.

The Lancers utilized their depth during the evening match, allowing 16 players to see playing time. Eleven of those players recorded a kill.

Elkin and Voss tied for match honors with nine kills apiece. Schmidt collected 18 digs with seven assists, and Riley Owens had 19 assists and 10 digs.

Stakely finished with 14 digs, Henderson had five kills, and Brea Harris had four kills.

Callie Jo Celichowski, Bee and Livia Tate each finished with three kills, and Tate and Bee each had a pair of block assists.