KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Grace College volleyball team opened up the NCCAA National Championships with a pair of losses on Thursday.

The Lady Lancers (23-17) were swept by Campbellsville in the opener of pool play before falling to Southern Wesleyan in four sets.

In their opening match of the NCCAA Nationals, Grace lost in straight sets to Campbellsville University.

The Tigers (29-10) got off to a fast start in the opening set and held a comfortable lead. The Lady Lancers battled back to cut Campbellsville’s lead to 16-14 before the Tigers eased away for a 25-20 win.

Grace started off much stronger in the second set but lost their momentum midway through in a 25-19 defeat.

The third set belonged to Campbellsville as they allowed Grace to record just three kills on the offensive side of the net in a nine-point loss for Grace.

Dana Johnston and Alix Underwood led Grace offensively with seven kills apiece, and Hannah Clemmons tallied a match-best 11 digs. The Tigers recorded 13 service aces in the match.

Grace had a much stronger performance in their second match of the day, despite falling 3-1 to Southern Wesleyan.

The Warriors (21-15) had their best offensive set in the opener and held on for a 25-23 win to take an early advantage.

Grace battled back to even the set count with a definitive 25-15 win in the second set. The Lady Lancers held Southern Wesleyan to a -0.226 team hitting percentage.

Southern Wesleyan responded with an eight-point win in the third set to set up a thrilling final set.

Both squads were clicking on the offensive side of the net as Grace pounded out 15 fourth-set kills compared to 18 for Southern Nazarene. The set eventually went to extra points when the Warriors pulled away late for a 30-28 victory.

Johnston’s 13 kills and Clemmons’s 12 kills paced Grace’s offense as Bethany Whitcraft handed out 44 digs.

Annie Salazar recorded 13 digs, and Arielle Walters added two solo blocks and three block assists.

The Lady Lancers will play their final two pool play matches on Friday against Fresno Pacific at 10 a.m. and Oakland City at 2 p.m.