Grace Volleyball Sweeps Bulldogs In Season Debut
August 16, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.
MARION, Ind. - The 2024 season for Grace’s volleyball team kicked off in style with a 3-0 sweep of Wilberforce on Thursday night.
The match began Grace’s season-opening tournament at the IWU Invitational.
Grace faces a pair of stiff tests on Friday, battling two NAIA Top 25 opponents. Grace will play No. 6 Midland at noon and No. 16 IU Kokomo at 4 p.m.
The Lancers scored the first point of the season to begin the opening set and never let up.
Grace turned to its freshmen early, and they delivered. Anna Elkin converted back-to-back kills, and Leah Henderson added another as Grace quickly doubled up WU 10-5.
Wilberforce was unable to build a run at Grace’s cushion, eventually slipping away 25-15. Grace’s offense enjoyed a 15-2 advantage in kills, hitting at a .400 percentage for the set. Alisha Voss had five opening-set kills.
The second set was even more dominant for Grace. The Lancers amassed 17 kills on just two errors for an eye-popping .682 hitting percentage.
Grace scored 10 of the first 12 points, aided by three kills from Anna Ballengee, as the Lancers sprinted away for a 25-9 victory.
The third set was much of the same. The Lancers ended the match with authority, using a 17-1 run to complete the convincing sweep. Claire Jackson had the final kill as the Lancers won handily 25-6.
Grace was nearly perfect defensively, holding Wilberforce to five kills for the entire match. The Bulldogs hit at a -.200 percentage as Grace had eight block assists in the quick three-setter.
Offensively, Grace piled up 41 kills on eight errors; eight players for Grace had multiple kills.
Alisha Voss finished the sweep with 11 kills on 15 swings (.667 percentage) while adding three block assists.
Elkin had six kills at a .273 percentage, and Ballengee was perfect with five kills on five attempts.
Jackson notched five kills with three block assists, Sahara Bee finished with four kills, and Callie Jo Celichowski and Henderson each had three kills.
Olivia Martinez and Emma Blackford notched six digs. Riley Owens produced 19 assists, 4 aces and 3 digs, and Morgan Syoen added 16 assists with an ace.
MARION, Ind. - The 2024 season for Grace’s volleyball team kicked off in style with a 3-0 sweep of Wilberforce on Thursday night.
The match began Grace’s season-opening tournament at the IWU Invitational.
Grace faces a pair of stiff tests on Friday, battling two NAIA Top 25 opponents. Grace will play No. 6 Midland at noon and No. 16 IU Kokomo at 4 p.m.
The Lancers scored the first point of the season to begin the opening set and never let up.
Grace turned to its freshmen early, and they delivered. Anna Elkin converted back-to-back kills, and Leah Henderson added another as Grace quickly doubled up WU 10-5.
Wilberforce was unable to build a run at Grace’s cushion, eventually slipping away 25-15. Grace’s offense enjoyed a 15-2 advantage in kills, hitting at a .400 percentage for the set. Alisha Voss had five opening-set kills.
The second set was even more dominant for Grace. The Lancers amassed 17 kills on just two errors for an eye-popping .682 hitting percentage.
Grace scored 10 of the first 12 points, aided by three kills from Anna Ballengee, as the Lancers sprinted away for a 25-9 victory.
The third set was much of the same. The Lancers ended the match with authority, using a 17-1 run to complete the convincing sweep. Claire Jackson had the final kill as the Lancers won handily 25-6.
Grace was nearly perfect defensively, holding Wilberforce to five kills for the entire match. The Bulldogs hit at a -.200 percentage as Grace had eight block assists in the quick three-setter.
Offensively, Grace piled up 41 kills on eight errors; eight players for Grace had multiple kills.
Alisha Voss finished the sweep with 11 kills on 15 swings (.667 percentage) while adding three block assists.
Elkin had six kills at a .273 percentage, and Ballengee was perfect with five kills on five attempts.
Jackson notched five kills with three block assists, Sahara Bee finished with four kills, and Callie Jo Celichowski and Henderson each had three kills.
Olivia Martinez and Emma Blackford notched six digs. Riley Owens produced 19 assists, 4 aces and 3 digs, and Morgan Syoen added 16 assists with an ace.