FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Grace's volleyball team kicked off the second half of the Crossroads League season with a gritty 3-2 win at St. Francis on Wednesday.
The No. 13 Lancers (21-3, 9-1 Crossroads League) extended their winning streak to six straight matches.
Anna Elkin and Savannah Clawson combined for 30 kills as the Lancers' attack outproduced the Cougars (7-15, 3-7 CL).
Grace gave up the first three points of the match, and the Cougars refused to relinquish their lead in the opening set.
Although Grace's offense collected 13 kills on a .259 percentage, the Lancers struggled to slow USF. USF did not commit an attacking error in the set and rolled away for a 25-17 victory.
The Lancers responded furiously in the second set. Grace won the first seven points of the set, sparked by scrappy defense, kills from Molly Hofmann and Callie Jo Celichowski as well as an ace by Carsyn Witt.
Grace blew through both of USF's timeouts by the midway point of the set. The Lancers ended the set with kills from Levyn Snow and Elkin for a 25-16 win to even the match.
The third set was a fierce battle. The teams could scarcely be separated from start to finish. USF opened up a slight three-point edge (21-18), but Grace rallied back to even the score at 22s.
The Cougars scored the next point and proceeded to eke away for a 25-23 win.
Grace kicked off the fourth set with a 7-3 lead, prompting a Cougar timeout. Midway into the set, two aces from Elkin helped build Grace's cushion to 15-6.
USF tried to respond and pulled to within four. But timely attacking and stout defense allowed Grace to speed away for a 25-15 win.
In the decisive fifth set, the Cougars scored the first point. But the rest of the set belonged to Grace.
Leah Henderson provided an early boost with kills on consecutive plays, and USF burned a timeout as Grace led 4-1.
Grace's lead quickly grew to five. In the middle stages, Henderson earned another kill followed by Celichowski.
Elkin took care of the rest. She produced two kills and then ended the match with an ace as Grace won 15-8.
Elkin produced 16 kills, 5 aces and 5 digs in a well-rounded performance. Clawson had 14 kills as well.
Hofmann (10 kills), Celichowski (8) and Snow (6) were steady contributors on offense.
Witt had 21 assists to go along with three aces, and Reese McCutchan passed out 20 assists.
Reagan Owens led Grace in digs (15), and Olivia Martinez added seven more.
The Lancers will remain on the road on Saturday with a 1 p.m. match against Huntington.
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