POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - Grace College's volleyball team went 2-0 on the opening day of the NCCAA National Championships.

The Lancers (17-16) started pool play with a 3-1 win over the College of the Ozarks and closed out the first day with a 3-0 sweep over Clinton.

Grace will finish pool play on Thursday afternoon against Ohio Christian. The Lancers can guarantee their spot in the semifinal with a win.

With five blocks on the day, Livia Tate also reached a milestone of 475 career blocks. She is sixth all-time in program history and is tops in the modern era of rally scoring (since 2001).

The first game of the tournament saw Grace play the host CofO. The Lancers and the Bobcats traded blows early in set one before Grace rang up four unanswered points, including a kill from Callie Jo Celichowski to go up 7-3.

CofO struck back tying the game at nine but back-to-back errors from the Bobcats put Grace back in the lead.

Levyn Snow had consecutive kills and Grace's blocking presence forced CofO into numerous attack errors which helped establish an 18-13 advantage.

The Lancers' offense went cold down the stretch of the opening set however, managing just two more points as the Bobcats took the set 25-20 thanks to a 12-2 run to close the set.

Despite falling behind by a set the Lancers seemed undaunted opening the second frame with a kill from Snow. Snow had another kill and Anna Elkin added one of her own as Grace extended their lead to 5-1.

The Bobcats mustered another run and jumped ahead 7-6 but this time Grace punched back.

A kill from Leah Henderson drew Grace back even, then Molly Hoffman and Tate teamed up for a block to recapture the lead for the Lancers.

Grace connected at a .234 clip in the set and had four blocks as they raced ahead 19-14.

The Bobcats pulled to within two points late in the set trying to pull off a second improbable comeback but a final kill from Snow sealed their fate and secured the set in the Lancers favor 25-22.

The script was flipped on the Lancers in set three as this time it was CofO who had the quick start. Kills from Celichowski and Henderson kept the Lancers afloat but the host school led 6-2 and seemed to have momentum in their favor.

Celichowski racked up a kill to stall the Bobcats and Elkin notched her first of six kills in the set to settle the score.

Carsyn Witt had a service ace and Tate sent down an emphatic spike to give the Lancers an 11-10 lead.

Grace continued to grow their advantage and after consecutive kills from Elkin led 16-12.

Grace closed the set by scoring nine of the final 10 points to take the set 25-15 and edge ahead two sets to one.

The fourth set proved to be the final of the match as the Lancers led from the start. Celichowski and Snow were dominant offensively for the Lancers, racking up 12 combined kills in the set at an eye-popping .705 clip.

CofO made one last push and pulled to within a point at 17-16 but Elkin answered with a kill to end the run and Grace cruised to the 25-19 win to secure the match three sets to one.

Grace connected at .213 rate for the match while CofO hit .147. Elkin led the way with 15 kills and was followed closely behind by Snow (14) and Celichowski (12). Tate had an impressive stat line with 10 kills and 5 blocks and 3 digs.

Reese McCutchan had 25 assists and Witt had 24. Liz Schmidt had 30 digs.

In the second game of the afternoon the Lancers swept their way past the Clinton Bears.

Elkin had three kills early in the set which helped Grace build a 7-2 advantage. The Lancers offense was the model of efficacy hitting at a .320 clip in the set.

The Bears battled back in the middle of the frame and tied the game at 15 before Grace flexed their muscles ending on a 10-3 run to claim the first set.

In set two Grace played 12 different players. Olivia Martinez started things off with an ace and Snow hammered home a kill as Grace built another comfortable edge to start the second frame.

Reagan Owens served four for straight points for the Lancers as Grace took a commanding 17-9 lead in the second set. The Lancers went on to win the set 25-18.

Clinton took an early lead in the third set handing the Lancers their first deficit of the match.

Grace and Clinton battled back-and-forth through the early portions of the set and the Bears held a narrow 13-11 lead before Grace took control for the final time.

Celichowski rattled off consecutive kills and Elkin had two aces sandwiched by kills from Brea Harris to catapult Grace back into the lead.

Henderson sealed the win for Grace with the final kill of the match giving Grace the 3-0 win.

The Lancers finished the game hitting .241 compared to Clinton's .165. All 14 players saw action in the win for Grace.

With 40 digs through the two games Schmidt moved into 9th place for single season digs in Grace's history.