Grace enjoys home-opening win vs Goshen
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – A raucous home crowd lifted Grace’s volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over Goshen on Wednesday night.
The Lancers enjoyed enthusiastic support from the fanbase at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center, resulting in an energetic atmosphere from start to finish.
Alisha Leffring and Katie Swanson led Grace’s attack with 10 kills apiece; the Lancers (7-1, 1-0 Crossroads League) hit 54 kills on a strong .246 percentage to win the conference opener.
Grace’s attack was dominant in the opening set. Grace had 14 kills on just 29 swings (.345 percentage).
Sahara Bee and Cassadi Colbert jumpstarted Grace’s offense in the early going. Bee produced back-to-back kills, and Colbert repeated the feat two plays later as Grace jumped out to a 7-3 lead.
Midway into the set, Grace doubled up the Maple Leafs with the score at 16-8 after back-to-back blocks.
The Lancers rolled to a 12-point win in the opening set to set the tone for the evening.
In the second set, the Maple Leafs struck back. Grace held a slight lead into the latter stages of the set, but Goshen won four of the final five points to sneak away with a 25-23 win.
Grace shook off the sting and produced kills on the first three rallies of the third set.
Consecutive kills from Swanson and Jadyn Ross lifted Grace to a 16-10 lead, forcing a timeout from the Maple Leafs.
The break did not slow the Lancers as Grace wrapped up the 25-20 victory.
The Lancers secured another early lead in the fourth set and pulled in front 12-6.
The Maple Leafs would not go down without a fight, however, leveling the score at 13-13 and again at 16-16.
But Grace seized momentum by winning the next six plays. Alisha Leffring started the run with a solo block; Livia Tate had two kills during the run, Ross had another, and Paige Vander Goot served up one of her two aces as well.
As the Lancers neared the final point, the decibel level from the crowd reached its peak. The Lancers ended the set at 25-19, wrapping up the victory with a well-placed kill from Bee.
Tate tallied 7 kills, 1 solo block and 3 block assists, hitting at a .538 percentage. Ross nearly had a double-double with nine kills and 16 digs.
Leffring finished with 10 kills, 1 solo block and 1 block assist, and Bee notched seven kills.
Anna Ballengee and Colbert each notched five kills with Ballengee adding four digs and a block assist.
Riley Owens amassed 22 assists and seven digs, and Morgan Syoen had 19 assists and nine digs.
With a 7-1 record, Grace is enjoying its best start to a season since 2014.
The Lancers end the weekend in Grand Rapids, Mich. Grace will play a split tournament, hosted by Aquinas and Cornerstone.
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