Grace VB Stays Unbeaten In League
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – After losing the opening set, the Grace College volleyball team rallied to win three straight in a 3-1 victory over Mt. Vernon Nazarene on Wednesday.
The Lady Lancers (14-3) improved to a perfect 5-0 in the Crossroads League with the win over the Cougars (10-3, 3-2 CL).
“We came to battle well as a team tonight,” said Grace head coach Andria Harshman. “All our players were committed from the minute we stepped off the bus to when we finished match point. This was a big road win in our league for GCVB.”
Mt. Vernon had its best performance in the opening set, tallying 13 kills in a 25-23 win. Grace’s defense took over from there, holding the Cougars to a .048 hitting percentage for the rest of the match.
The Lady Lancers distanced themselves from the hosts with a 17-10 lead in the second set en route to a 25-22 victory, tying the match.
Grace built up a five-point lead in the third set and held off a late rally from the Cougars to win 25-21. After pounding out 14 kills in the third set, Grace exploded for 15 kills in the decisive fourth set for the final 25-21 victory.
Ellie Harp nearly pulled off a triple-double in the match, tallying 45 assists, 10 digs and 7 kills on a .286 percentage. Calah Kruse (13 kills, 13 digs) and Kaitlin Kerrigan (12 kills, 15 digs) also notched double-doubles in the win.
Tori Bontrager had Grace’s highest attack percentage with seven kills at a .316 rate. She also had five of the team’s eight service aces. Grace Woolsey produced 8 kills, 2 solo blocks and 4 block assists, and Sierra Smith chipped in nine kills. Hannah Clemmons led Grace with 24 digs, and Sara Miller added 14 digs.
The Lady Lancers have one match remaining in the week. Grace will travel to Huntington on Friday at 7 p.m.