Grace sweeps rival Bethel
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Grace’s volleyball team completed an emphatic sweep of Bethel on Friday night at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
The Lady Lancers (19-14, 11-6 Crossroads League) were in control for most of the match en route to a 25-15, 25-21, 25-17 victory.
Alexa Hill directed a dynamic attack for Grace, passing out 40 assists. The Lady Lancers had a 43-29 advantage in kills, and every Grace attacker hit at least .200 for the match.
The Pilots (13-19, 6-10 CL) held a slight 12-9 lead in the first set before Grace pulled ahead. The Lady Lancers dominated the rest of the set, winning 16 of the last 19 rallies to score a 10-point victory. Caylie Teel and Sierra Smith each had five kills in the game.
In the second set, Grace’s defense muted Bethel to the tune of nine kills and eight errors. Tori Bontrager had two kills and two block assists in the four-point win.
Bethel showed sparks of life in the third game. The Pilots jumped out to a 10-4 lead, but a well-placed timeout from Grace coach Katie Van Hofwegen stemmed Bethel’s momentum.
Grace rattled off six straight points to tie the score, thanks to kills from Savannah Hart, Hill and Kelsee Zuidema. Overall, Grace went on a 14-3 run to stymie the Pilots.
Hart and Teel had a pair of kills down the stretch to secure Grace’s sweep in the match.
Teel racked up a double-double in just three sets with 10 kills, 13 digs and 4 block assists. Smith had nine kills on a .412 percentage with two block assists, and Hart added eight kills and two block assists.
Zuidema produced eight kills, and Bontrager tallied seven kills and four block assists. Sara Miller led Grace with 14 digs, and Gina Novotny chipped in 10 digs.
The Lady Lancers end the regular season on Wednesday at Goshen at 7 p.m. Grace has wrapped up the No. 3 seed in next week’s CL Tournament; the Lady Lancers will host a quarterfinal match on Nov. 4.