TWICE AS NICE: Grace repeats as NCCAA national champions
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – A storybook season for Grace’s volleyball team penned a perfect final chapter on Saturday as the Lancers claimed the 2024 NCCAA national championship.
The Lancers defeated Jessup (Calif.) 3-1 in the national championship match, claiming its second straight national title.
It marks Grace’s third national championship in program history and is the 22nd championship in school history.
In the championship match, Grace’s blocking wall was impenetrable. The Lancers racked up 16 block points in the four sets, eventually deflating the Warriors’ attack and leading to the title.
Alisha Voss and Sahara Bee were named to the NCCAA All-Tournament Team after Saturday’s win, and Voss was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
The Lancers (24-12) gained an early advantage in the opening set, but a series of attack errors allowed Jessup to score four straight and take an 11-9 lead.
But Grace responded with a 4-0 run of its own thanks to back-to-back kills from Livia Tate.
The score remained close until Grace edged ahead 20-17 on a block from Voss and Bee.
Jessup called timeout, but the Lancers used another block from Bee and Tate and a timely ace from Olivia Martinez to keep momentum.
The Warriors rallied late to even the score at 22s, but a well-placed timeout from head coach Katie Hill allowed Grace to regain composure.
The Lancers ended the set with kills from Voss, Tate and Bee to win 25-22.
Grace survived eight attack errors in the set, benefitting from three block points.
The Lancers owned the second set. Grace scored the first three points, capped off by another ace from Martinez.
Grace doubled up Jessup 14-7 midway through the set and led by as many as nine (21-12). The Lancers rolled away to a 25-18 win, ending the set on a block from Bee.
Grace held Jessup to a .000 hitting percentage as a team, racking up four blocks to stunt the Warriors’ attack.
Jessup proved its mettle in the third set as the team faced elimination. The Warriors roared ahead 11-2, and Grace was unable to catch up.
The teams played evenly for the rest of the set, but the damage was done as Jessup stayed alive with a 25-19 win.
In the fourth set, Grace’s blocking effort made an opening statement. Grace had three early block points to charge ahead 6-0. Jessup was forced to burn an early timeout to try to slow down the Lancers.
The Lancers still led 11-3, and the Warriors called their final timeout.
Grace would not be denied with the trophy in the team’s sights. The Lancers amassed seven blocks total in the fourth set, thwarting any chance for Jessup to come back.
Leah Henderson produced a kill to create match point, and Ross capped off the championship with a kill on the final play, allowing the Lancers to storm the court in euphoric celebration.
Grace was efficient offensively with 47 kills and only 16 attack errors (.189 percentage).
Anna Ballengee earned a team-high 11 kills with 5 digs, 1 solo block and 1 block assist, and Tate notched 10 kills and five block assists.
Ross had eight kills and five digs, Bee racked up 7 kills, 1 solo block and 7 block assists, and Voss had 6 kills, 1 solo block and 8 block assists.
Leah Henderson notched 4 kills, 6 digs and 5 block assists, Liz Schmidt had 19 digs with six assists, and McKenzie Stakely collected 11 digs.
Riley Owens had a double-double with 13 assists and 12 digs, and Morgan Syoen ended with 21 assists and four digs.