WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College's volleyball team kicked off Crossroads League action with a sweep over St. Francis on Wednesday night.
The Lancers (7-2, 1-0 CL) pulled off the three-set win in front of a raucous crowd that packed the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
The opening set was competitive in the early stages. Savannah Clawson had a pair of kills as Grace led 10-9. A pair of Cougar errors and a kill from Anna Elkin gave the Lancers a four-point lead and forced a USF timeout.
Callie Jo Celichowski added a kill from Carsyn Witt as Grace continued to add to its advantage.
The Cougars clawed back to within three points but a tactical attack from Witt and an emphatic swing from Abby Leffering had the Lancers on the verge of taking set one.
The winning point came from Elkin whose kill clinched a 25-19 set one victory for the Lancers.
The second frame started with a kill from Molly Hofmann but it was USF who jumped out to an early lead. The Cougars held a 7-4 cushion.
Leah Henderson and Leffring had consecutive kills which helped Grace leapfrog into the lead at 9-8. Grace's defense was stout at the net forcing the Cougars into a plethora of miscues as its lead ballooned to 16-10.
Hoffman, Elkin and Henderson knocked out three-straight kills to push the Lancers to the edge of taking a 2-0 lead. The winning point was sent down courtesy of Olivia Martinez as Grace took a stranglehold on the game.
The third set proved to be the closest of the three. Witt started things off with a service ace and an attack error from the Cougars had Grace ahead 2-0.
A kill from Clawson pushed the Lancers up 10-7 before USF rattled off three-straight to tie the game at 10. Levyn Snow ended the run with a kill as the two teams traded points.
As the set entered the late portions the Lancers clung to a 20-19 lead. Leffring gave the Lancers breathing room and the sweep was clinched with a kill from Elkin.
Grace hit at an impressive .297 clip for the game and hit .370 in the final set.
Elkin led all players with 11 kills while Clawson and Leffring chipped in seven and six kills respectively.
Witt had 11 assists and Leffering contributed with four blocks. Martinez had nine digs.
The Lancers will return to action on Saturday to take on Indiana Tech and Defiance in the Bethel Invitational.
Â
