Grace spikers complete season sweep of TU
UPLAND, Ind. – Grace’s volleyball team fought off a feisty Taylor squad to win 3-1 on Wednesday.
The No. 14 Lancers (17-5, 10-2 Crossroads League) lost the opening set but claimed the next three to grab the road win.
Taylor opened up a fast 8-3 lead in the first set; the Trojans never relinquished that lead and secured the 25-19 win.
The Trojans had a match-high 19 kills in the opener, outpacing Grace’s 11 kills.
The teams traded the lead throughout the second set. TU held a slight 19-18 edge, but an ace from Morgan Syoen and a kill from Alisha Voss put Grace back on top.
Voss added two more kills shortly afterwards, and Olivia Martinez aced on the final serve as Grace evened the match with a 25-21 victory.
Midway in the third set, Grace gained separation. Anna Elkin had two straight kills to power a 4-0 spurt, pushing Grace’s cushion to 16-11.
The Trojans could not make a significant dent in Grace’s lead as the Lancers collected a 25-19 win.
The fourth set was a nailbiter. Grace and TU took turns holding small leads.
With the score level at 19s, Sahara Bee and Livia Tate had back-to-back kills. Taylor managed to recover and evened the score at 22-22.
The score stayed even at 23-23, but Grace wrapped up the win on the next two plays. Jadyn Ross produced a thunderous kill to give the Lancers 24 points, and Voss ended the match with a kill over the block as the Lancers won 25-23.
Grace’s offense was efficient in all four sets, finishing the match with a .205 percentage. The Lancers also excelled defensively with 11 blocks.
Bee led Grace with 11 kills on two errors (.450 percentage), adding four block assists.
Voss also had a balanced outing with nine kills (.207 percentage) and a match-high six block assists.
Elkin pounded out 10 kills on a .200 percentage, and Anna Ballengee added 9 kills, 2 block assists and 4 digs.
Ross collected 6 kills, 3 block assists and 3 digs, and Tate finished with four kills and five block assists.
Riley Owens posted a double-double with 20 assists and 10 digs, and Morgan Syoen had 25 assists, 3 aces, 3 kills and 6 digs.
Liz Schmidt paced the defense with 19 digs, McKenzie Stakely added eight digs, and Martinez chipped in six digs to go with an ace.
The Lancers return home on Saturday for a 1 p.m. match against Spring Arbor. Saturday will also be Senior Day to honor Grace’s graduating class.