Grace secures stunning sweep of No. 20 Trojans
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Grace’s volleyball team played one of its most complete matches of the season on Wednesday, collecting yet another Top-25 upset victory.
The Lancers swept No. 20 Taylor in emphatic fashion, marking the team’s third upset win in the past month.
Grace was effective in all areas, finishing with 10 more kills than Taylor as well as four more blocks and 12 more assists.
The Lancers (13-11, 6-6 Crossroads League) began the first set with a flurry. Grace jumped ahead 7-2, aided by two kills apiece by Livia Tate and Anna Elkin. Tate had two blocks as well during the opening spurt.
Taylor pulled back to within three, but Grace was resolved to maintain its cushion. The Lancers kept the Trojans at arm’s length and pulled away for a comfortable 25-18 win.
Elkin had five kills, and Molly Hofmann added four kills on five swings in the first set.
Grace tried to grab another fast start in the second set with a quick 3-0 lead. But this time Taylor countered with a furious 11-1 run.
The Lancers faced an 11-4 hole and immediately began digging out of it. Grace poured in six unanswered points, sparked by two kills from Elkin and two blocks from Tate.
The teams traded points down the stretch as the set eventually went to extra points. Taylor had two chances to win the set, leading 25-24 and 26-25. But timely kills from Elkin and Tate kept Grace afloat.
The Lancers then quickly surged to the win thanks to a block from Tate and Hofmann and finally a kill by Elkin. Grace won the set 28-26.
The extra-point victory seemed to deflate the Trojans. Grace was efficient on offense in the third set, tallying 12 kills on just two errors.
Taylor committed 10 attack errors in part to three blocks for Grace. The Lancers were in control throughout the set, rolling away to a seven-point win.
Elkin led all players with 15 kills on a .244 percentage, and Tate had 10 kills on 15 attempts (.600 percentage) to go along with a dominant blocking performance of two solo blocks and five block assists.
Levyn Snow tallied seven kills, and Hofmann had seven kills (.353) and four block assists.
Grace’s setters both had double-doubles, including Reese McCutchan’s 19 assists, 11 digs and 3 aces as well as Carsyn Witt’s 14 assists and 10 digs.
Liz Schmidt tallied 15 digs with eight assists, Olivia Martinez added six digs, and Emma Blackford chipped in five digs.
The Lancers are on the road on Saturday, traveling to Spring Arbor. Next week, Grace will play at home twice, including St. Francis on Wednesday and Bethel on Saturday.