WINONA LAKE – At the beginning of the week, the Grace College volleyball team sat in eighth place in the Crossroads League.

After Saturday’s 3-1 win over Marian, the Lady Lancers jumped into sole possession of fourth place thanks to Grace’s fourth-straight victory.

The Lady Lancers (10-8, 5-4 CL) outhit Marian with 53 kills on a .185 percentage compared to Marian’s 46 kills at a .086 clip.

In the opening set, Grace fell behind early and never tasted the lead again. The Knights (11-8, 4-5 CL) scored nine of the first 13 points and maintained a slight lead. On several occasions, Grace cut the margin to one but was unable to regain the lead.

Marian served for the set at 24-21, and Marta Bleed kept Grace afloat with two consecutive kills. But Marian ended the game on the next point to win 25-23.

Grace recovered to take an early 6-3 lead in the second game, but Marian gained momentum midway through the set. The Knights pulled on top 21-19, but Grace countered with three straight points to force a timeout from Marian.

The timeout could not stop the offensive wrecking ball that was Kelsee Zuidema. The sophomore pounded out the final three kills of the set for Grace to even up the match with a 25-22 win.

The third set had several key runs. Marian had a 9-3 run to open up a slight lead in the early stages. Grace responded with a 7-1 run to open up a 14-11 advantage, but the Knights countered with an 8-1 spurt of their own to regain the lead.

Zuidema stopped Marian’s momentum with a kill and two straight serves that could not be returned. Grace’s blocking effort carried the team in the later stages as a solo block from Tori Bontrager gave Grace a 22-21 lead, and a tandem block by Bontrager and Marta Bleed won the game 25-22.

In the fourth set, Grace showed more energy from the start. Marian had to burn both timeouts early to slow down the Lady Lancers as Grace opened up a commanding 13-6 advantage.

Grace’s cushion continued to grow until the Knights rallied with a 9-2 run, trimming Grace’s lead to three. But a well-placed timeout from head coach Katie Van Hofwegen calmed Grace’s demeanor as the Lady Lancers cruised to a 25-19 win.

Zuidema led all players with 15 kills to go along with seven digs, and Sierra Smith pounded out 11 kills on 26 swings.

Taylor Baird had a double-double with 43 assists and 10 digs, and Tori Bontrager produced a strong statline of 8 kills, 6 digs, 3 solo blocks, 5 block assists and 2 aces.

Bleed finished the match with seven kills and three block assists, and Alexa Hill tied for match honors with 16 digs. Caylie Teel’s 13 digs and Kaitlin Kerrigan’s 11 digs served Grace’s backline well.

The Lady Lancers’ three-game homestand concludes on Wednesday with a match against rival Bethel at 7 p.m.