MISHAWAKA, Ind. - Grace's volleyball team took on a pair of ranked opponents on Friday to begin the Michiana Mayhem tournament, hosted by Bethel.

The Lancers gave both opponents everything they could handle, falling in five sets against Columbia International (receiving votes in NAIA) as well as No. 15 Aquinas.

In the opener, Grace and Columbia International tangled in a five-set battle. The Lancers began with momentum, winning each of the first two sets.

In the opening set, Grace trailed 22-20. But the Lancers won five of the last six points to claim the win 25-23. Livia Tate, Anna Elkin and Levyn Snow had kills down the stretch to aid Grace's spurt.

The Lancers enjoyed another strong ending in the second set. Grace went on a 6-2 run to win the set 25-20. Olivia Martinez produced a pair of kills late, and Emma Blackford added an ace.

The Rams countered with 25-19 and 25-18 wins over the next two sets. Grace's offense was sluggish with 15 kills combined across the third and fourth sets.

CIU carried their momentum into the tiebreaking fifth set, completing the comeback with a 15-9 victory.

Both teams had similar kills (53 for CIU, 50 for Grace), but the Lancers hampered their cause with 39 attack errors.

Elkin tied for match honors with 16 kills to go along with 15 digs, and Livia Tate had 13 kills, 2 solo blocks and 2 block assists.

Liz Schmidt tallied 21 digs, Carsyn Witt had 36 assists and 20 digs, and Blackford notched seven aces and 12 digs.

Immediately afterward, Grace tangled with No. 15 Aquinas. Grace did not back down from the challenge, splitting the first four sets.

Aquinas won the opener, but the Lancers countered with a 25-23 win in the second set. Abby Leffring had the clinching kill in the set in a timely moment.

Grace found itself with its back against the wall after Aquinas won the third set by seven, but the Lancers showed resolve.

Needing a win in the fourth set, Grace delivered. The Lancers faced match point as they trailed 24-21. Grace eventually survived four match points, using three combined kills from freshmen Leffring and Snow. Snow's final kill clinched the recovery as Grace won 27-25.

Leah Henderson was a key figure during a hot start in the fifth set; she notched two blocks and two kills, sparking Grace to an 8-2 lead.

But the Lancers' offense went quiet down the stretch, producing just two more kills. Aquinas took advantage and sped away to a 15-10 victory to take the match.

Martinez was dominant with a match-high 17 kills on a .289 percentage, and Henderson had 12 kills, 5 block assists and 4 digs.

Schmidt led all players with 26 digs, and Elkin added seven kills with 11 digs.

The Lancers will end the tournament with two more matches on Saturday, including Defiance at 9 a.m. and IU East at 3:30 p.m.