Grace volleyball players celebrate a point versus No. 25 Marian on the way to a three-set win at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center Wednesday. From left they are: Kelsee Zuidema, Tori Bontrager, Alexa Hill, Gina Novotny and Caylie Teel. (Photos by James Costello)

WINONA LAKE — Kelsee Zuidema returned to conference play Wednesday, and Grace was happy to have her back.

The junior outside hitter served up three straight aces and seven straight points as the Lady Lancers rallied back from a 22-18 deficit to close out the first set on a 7-0 run, and she finished the night with a match co-leading 12 kills and four total aces as Grace threw her a Crossroads League coming home party with a 25-22, 25-23, 25-22 sweep of No. 25 Marian at home at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.

Kelsee Zuidema and Alexa Hill before Wednesday’s match.

“She’s been out with a broken foot; she had surgery early on in the season,” explained Grace head coach Katie Van Hofwegen of Zuidema, who played in her fourth match back but first Crossroads contest Wednesday since returning to the Lady Lancer lineup last Friday. “Having her back is just kind of a missing piece to the puzzle that we’ve really needed. A huge piece on the outside just being able to terminate plays and then she got us I think six or seven points in game one, really changed the momentum of that game and put it back in our favor.”

Grace (17-13, 9-5 CL) trailed the league-leading Knights (23-4, 13-2 CL) for much of the first game before Zuidema’s third straight ace knotted the game at 22-all and cued a Marian timeout. The break did little to halt the Lancers’ momentum, however, and they closed out the set with three straight points, the last following a big block by senior middle hitter Tori Bontrager.

A 6-2 run by Marian left Grace trailing again at 20-16 late in the second set, forcing a timeout from Van Hofwegen. The Lancers regrouped to win the next four points and tie it up at 20-20, then grabbed their first lead in the set since holding a 13-12 advantage early with the last of Zuidema’s four aces at 22-21. A back set by sophomore setter Alexa Hill and kill by senior opposite side hitter Sierra Smith put the exclamation mark on the 25-23 win and gave the Lancers some breathing room up two matches to none.

“That’s typically been a strength of ours all season,” said Van Hofwegen of her team’s ability to come from behind. “They are just a hard-working group of girls, not willing to give up. They play pretty fearlessly when they’re behind with nothing to lose and then they carry that momentum into the last couple of points to finish it off. Really proud of them for that.”

Sierra Smith, left, and Tori Bontrager attempt to block Marian’s Kacee Salyers.

Marian opened the final game with a quick 4-0 spurt, but Grace steadily whittled that deficit down to knot it up at 12-all. After trading points through the midway point of the set, the Lancers used a 6-1 run to take command at 24-21, and the final set closed with a whimper when a Marian attacker completely missed the ball as the Knights — winners of 21 of their last 22 matches — suffered just their second loss in Crossroads League play.

If the win wasn’t a surprise to Van Hofwegen, the sweep was.

“I think it did surprise me a little bit, but we worked hard all week at this. We really pre-gamed hard and just tried to prepare the best we can for the match and tried to learn their tendencies,” she said. “Our team has just been constantly working hard, and we’ve got great chemistry together this year. They really trust each other on the court, and that definitely shows in our play.”

Alongside Zuidema, the Lancers got a boost from fellow junior Caylie Teel, who matched her classmate with 12 kills to go with seven digs rotating from the defensive specialist to the outside hitter position for an injury-depleted Grace lineup.

“Tonight was her best match by far, both offensively and defensively,” Van Hofwegen said of Teel. “Just amazing to have her in six rotations, playing all the way around. She really steps up our defensive game, and then tonight she produced well for us offensively, which was just amazing. She’s getting more confident on the outside position with her swings.”

Meanwhile for the Lancers, sophomore set Alexa Hill registered 39 assists after picking up Crossroads League Setter of the Week honors for Grace. Libero Sara Miller tallied 22 digs, and Smith and Savannah Hart finished with nine and five kills, respectively.

Alexa Hill sets the ball while Caylie Teel gets in position.

Kacee Salyers led the Marian attack with nine kills, while Frannie Stephenson notched eight as the Knights finished with hitting errors and a .192 attacking percentage at Grace. Julie Hoying and Madi Heffron combined for 32 assists, and Vanessa Lay recorded 13 digs for the visitors.

The Lancers now look to parlay Wednesday’s momentum into Saturday’s Senior Day match with Indiana Wesleyan. Opening serve is scheduled for 3 p.m.

“This is a huge win for us, a big upset being able to sweep No. 1 on our home court. We’re hoping we can’t take that momentum and carry it into Saturday, which is another big match for us,” said Van Hofwegen.