MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Grace's volleyball team was unable to finish off a season sweep of Mt. Vernon Nazarene, losing in five sets on Saturday.
Four of the five sets were decided by two points as the pair of 20-win teams battled fiercely throughout the match.
Grace fell into an early hole in the first set and immediately trailed 7-3. But Grace used five points in a row to charge ahead, sparked by two kills from Levyn Snow.
But MVNU countered and eventually led late by four points at 23-19.
Grace jolted to life late. Savannah Clawson had a trio of kills, and Grace Bowers aced. MVNU burned both timeouts in quick succession, but Grace was unbothered. Emily Uhlmann served up an ace on the final play as Grace came from behind to win 26-24. The Lancers ended the set on a 7-1 run.
The second set had many similarities. MVNU grabbed an 11-8 lead at the beginning, gradually pulling in front 19-15.
But a 6-1 run sent Grace charging in front. Anna Elkin had back-to-back kills as Grace led 21-20.
The Lancers outplayed the Cougars down the stretch. Molly Hofmann had a part in two block points as well as a kill, and Grace won 25-23. The Lancers took four of the final five points to close out the set.
In the third set, the roles reversed. Grace scored the first six points of the set. Uhlmann served up two aces, the last of which forced an early timeout by MVNU.
The Cougars responded with a 12-4 run to erase Grace's advantage.Â
Grace and MVNU traded small runs for the rest of the set. The Cougars led 23-21 before Grace pulled ahead 24-23. The Cougars then claimed four of the final rallies, sneaking away with a 27-25 win in extra points to survive a near-sweep.
MVNU won swiftly in the fourth set. The Cougars led 10-2 and never looked back, sending the match to a fifth and final set.
In the finale, Grace had to call timeout first after MVNU claimed a 7-4 advantage. Abby Leffring produced a block and a kill on consecutive plays to breath life back into Grace.
Shortly afterwards, Elkin's ace and Hofmann's kill pushed Grace in front 12-11.
The Lancers then served for the match at 14-12, but the Cougars survived with a block and an ace, sending the tiebreaking set into extra points.
The Cougars held on late, winning four of the last five points to claim the set 18-16 and win the match.
Leffring finished with 13 kills on a .333 percentage to go along with five block points, and Elkin had a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs.
Reagan Owens led Grace with 17 digs while adding 10 assists, and Olivia Martinez had 10 digs.
Hofmann tallied 11 kills, and Snow and Clawson each collected 10 kills.
Uhlmann recorded 23 assists, 3 aces and 7 digs, and Witt had 20 assists and five digs.
Next up, the Lancers will play their final home game of the regular season. Grace will host Bethel on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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