Two More Sign With Grace Volleyball

WINONA LAKE – Grace College’s volleyball team picked up two more standout signees for the upcoming 2020 season.

Julia Nagy, a freshman from Blackhawk Christian, and Paige Eakright, a transfer from Huntington University, join the Lady Lancers for this fall. Head coach Katie Van Hofwegen has brought in eight new faces to the squad this year.

Nagy is an accomplished defensive specialist. She originally signed to play at DePaul University (NCAA Div. I) before committing to Grace. For her career, she racked up 1,290 digs, 961 kills and 257 aces.

Nagy was a three-time All-State honoree, also earning All-District and All-Northeast Indiana recognition during her career. The 5-foot-8 player played tennis for three seasons at Blackhawk.

“Grace College has always made me feel welcomed and at home when I visited,” Nagy said. “They are very genuine in what they do, and they walk the walk here. I’m excited to help the team in any way that I can.”

Eakright comes to Grace with one season remaining of eligibility. She is a graduate transfer from Huntington after attending for four years. Eakright redshirted during one of her years, leaving one season left in her collegiate career.

She impressed during her time with the Foresters. Last year she pounded out 416 kills, 327 digs, 26 blocks and 19 aces to earn All-Crossroads League recognition. In 2018 she was a Second Team All-League honoree, and she was named to the All-Freshman Team in 2016.

Eakright will also serve as a graduate assistant coach for Grace, picking up more duties after the 2020 season concludes. She is pursuing a Master’s degree in athletic administration while at Grace.

“I chose Grace College to pursue my passion in athletics, adding a Master’s along with college coaching experience,” Eakright said. “I hope to become an even more versatile player so that I can benefit the team however they need this year.”



Manchester eSports joins Great Lakes conference

NORTH MANCHESTER – Manchester University has joined the Great Lakes Esports Conference (GLEC). This adds intercollegiate games for students and further develops the growing program.

“It gives our players another chance for competition,” said eSports Director Jim Manis. In its first season of competition, the Spartans were in one major conference, the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE). With NACE, players had maybe one competition a week.

“This will provide one to two more games a week for students,” Manis said. “It’s about expanding their opportunities.”

Manchester will compete in GLEC League of Legends and Rocket League play.

Indiana and Ohio schools in the conference are Bethel University, Defiance College, Lourdes University, Marietta College, University of Mount Union, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Musk-ingum University, Ohio Northern University, Tiffin University and Trine University.

Conference play begins Sept. 12 and will end no later than Nov. 15, Manis said.

Manchester has taken COVID-19 precautions in its eSports arena: spreading out players, limiting total capacity of the arena, scheduling times for extra cleaning and adding Plexiglas shields between stations. Manche-ster requires masks in all common areas.

At Manchester, scholarships are available for League of Legends, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros. Registration for varsity-level teams begin later in August. Updates can be found at @MU_esport on Twitter.

Manchester began intercollegiate eSports competition for men and women in the spring of 2020. The University also offers the Manchester Gaming Society, which brings eSports enthusiasts together for both casual and competitive play.