Balanced Effort Leads Lancer VB
September 20, 2020 at 6:49 p.m.
Balanced Effort Leads Lancer VB
By Josh Neuhart-
The Lady Lancers (5-0, 5-0 Crossroads League) have only dropped two sets this season and have not been taken to a fifth set.
Grace shared the wealth during Saturday’s win as no player reached double digits in kills. Ten different players recorded a kill for Grace, however, led by nine kills from Katie Swanson and eight apiece from Paige Eakright and Makaela Lochmueller.
Eakright had eight kills and two digs against her former team after playing three seasons for the Foresters.
Swanson helped Grace start well by picking up the team’s first two kills. An ace from Emily Sharp and a kill by Anna Frey put the Lady Lancers ahead 6-1.
The Foresters never found their footing as Grace enjoyed a 25-15 rout.
The second set was a roller coaster. The score was level at 11, but Huntington ripped off seven straight to seize control.
The Foresters were on the verge of winning easily, holding a 24-18 lead. But Grace incredibly held off six straight set points to tie the score 24-24. Cassadi Colbert and Makayla Bell each had a kill and a block during Grace’s spurt.
But the Foresters recovered, winning the next two rallies to win 26-24.
Grace had its most efficient offensive set during the third game, producing 13 kills on a .290 percentage to win 25-22.
In the fourth set, Grace used a 9-0 run midway into the set to grab a commanding 18-9 advantage. The Lady Lancers cruised to a seven-point win to secure the match.
Gabbey Harrington produced a strong statline with 38 assists, 4 kills, 4 block assists and 6 digs. Gina Novotny and Julia Nagy tied for the team lead with 10 digs, and both players also had two aces.
Sharp and Brittany Baize had identical numbers with seven digs and one ace, and Jadyn Block notched three kills off the bench.
The Lady Lancers have a challenging match on Wednesday, traveling to face the defending national champions No. 1 Marian.
Grace rallies late to top Cornerstone
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grace’s women’s tennis team showed its resolve in a narrow 4-3 win at Cornerstone on Saturday.
The Lady Lancers improved to 9-2 with the comeback victory.
The doubles’ point was hard fought. Ellie Hughes and Anna Graves pulled out a 7-5 win at No. 3 doubles.
Jayna Armstrong and Dayana Ortega found themselves behind 5-2 at No. 1 doubles, but the duo clawed back and won 7-6 (7-4).
The Golden Eagles seized momentum by winning at No. 1, 3 and 4 singles, but Grace tied the match with wins by Armstrong at No. 2 (6-2, 6-4) and Kiersten Martin at No. 6 (6-4, 6-2).
The match was decided at No. 5 singles by Lauryn Riegsecker. She split the first two sets with her opponent. In the 10-point tiebreaker, she trailed 0-6. But Riegsecker stormed back, fought off a match point and won 12-10 to clinch her match and the overall team victory.
The Lady Lancers will host Monday and Tuesday next week. Grace hosts Concordia on Monday at 2 p.m. followed by the league quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Grace baseball alum wins championship with Florence Y’alls
WINONA LAKE -– Grace College baseball alumni Joe Dougherty earned some hardware last week.
Dougherty won a championship for the Florence Y’alls, a professional team in the independent Frontier League. He pitched the championship-clinching ninth inning of the Battle of the Bourbon Trail, recording the save in a 6-5 win.
The Battle of the Bourbon Trail was a COVID-adjusted schedule as the regular Frontier League season was canceled due to the pandemic.
Dougherty pitched in 14 games, picking up a league-high six saves. He posted a 2.57 ERA in those games, earning a spot in the league’s All-Star Team as a result.
He pitched at Grace from 2014-17. As a senior in 2017 he struck out 42 batters in 54.2 innings of work.
“It was an amazing experience down here,” Dougherty said. “We had a great coaching staff which helped us develop as players. I focused on competing to the best of my ability each time I took the mound, and I’m thankful we were able to come away with the trophy.”
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The Lady Lancers (5-0, 5-0 Crossroads League) have only dropped two sets this season and have not been taken to a fifth set.
Grace shared the wealth during Saturday’s win as no player reached double digits in kills. Ten different players recorded a kill for Grace, however, led by nine kills from Katie Swanson and eight apiece from Paige Eakright and Makaela Lochmueller.
Eakright had eight kills and two digs against her former team after playing three seasons for the Foresters.
Swanson helped Grace start well by picking up the team’s first two kills. An ace from Emily Sharp and a kill by Anna Frey put the Lady Lancers ahead 6-1.
The Foresters never found their footing as Grace enjoyed a 25-15 rout.
The second set was a roller coaster. The score was level at 11, but Huntington ripped off seven straight to seize control.
The Foresters were on the verge of winning easily, holding a 24-18 lead. But Grace incredibly held off six straight set points to tie the score 24-24. Cassadi Colbert and Makayla Bell each had a kill and a block during Grace’s spurt.
But the Foresters recovered, winning the next two rallies to win 26-24.
Grace had its most efficient offensive set during the third game, producing 13 kills on a .290 percentage to win 25-22.
In the fourth set, Grace used a 9-0 run midway into the set to grab a commanding 18-9 advantage. The Lady Lancers cruised to a seven-point win to secure the match.
Gabbey Harrington produced a strong statline with 38 assists, 4 kills, 4 block assists and 6 digs. Gina Novotny and Julia Nagy tied for the team lead with 10 digs, and both players also had two aces.
Sharp and Brittany Baize had identical numbers with seven digs and one ace, and Jadyn Block notched three kills off the bench.
The Lady Lancers have a challenging match on Wednesday, traveling to face the defending national champions No. 1 Marian.
Grace rallies late to top Cornerstone
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grace’s women’s tennis team showed its resolve in a narrow 4-3 win at Cornerstone on Saturday.
The Lady Lancers improved to 9-2 with the comeback victory.
The doubles’ point was hard fought. Ellie Hughes and Anna Graves pulled out a 7-5 win at No. 3 doubles.
Jayna Armstrong and Dayana Ortega found themselves behind 5-2 at No. 1 doubles, but the duo clawed back and won 7-6 (7-4).
The Golden Eagles seized momentum by winning at No. 1, 3 and 4 singles, but Grace tied the match with wins by Armstrong at No. 2 (6-2, 6-4) and Kiersten Martin at No. 6 (6-4, 6-2).
The match was decided at No. 5 singles by Lauryn Riegsecker. She split the first two sets with her opponent. In the 10-point tiebreaker, she trailed 0-6. But Riegsecker stormed back, fought off a match point and won 12-10 to clinch her match and the overall team victory.
The Lady Lancers will host Monday and Tuesday next week. Grace hosts Concordia on Monday at 2 p.m. followed by the league quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Grace baseball alum wins championship with Florence Y’alls
WINONA LAKE -– Grace College baseball alumni Joe Dougherty earned some hardware last week.
Dougherty won a championship for the Florence Y’alls, a professional team in the independent Frontier League. He pitched the championship-clinching ninth inning of the Battle of the Bourbon Trail, recording the save in a 6-5 win.
The Battle of the Bourbon Trail was a COVID-adjusted schedule as the regular Frontier League season was canceled due to the pandemic.
Dougherty pitched in 14 games, picking up a league-high six saves. He posted a 2.57 ERA in those games, earning a spot in the league’s All-Star Team as a result.
He pitched at Grace from 2014-17. As a senior in 2017 he struck out 42 batters in 54.2 innings of work.
“It was an amazing experience down here,” Dougherty said. “We had a great coaching staff which helped us develop as players. I focused on competing to the best of my ability each time I took the mound, and I’m thankful we were able to come away with the trophy.”
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