FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Grace’s volleyball team added yet another win to its tally on Saturday during the final day of the Onset Invitational.
The Lancers swept Oakland City to improve its winning streak to six straight before ending the day with a 3-0 loss to Aquinas (receiving votes in the NAIA).
Grace now sits with a sterling 6-1 record after its first two nonconference tournaments.
The team will take a week off from games before entering Crossroads League play. Grace’s league opener will be on Sept. 4 at defending NAIA champions and No. 1-ranked Indiana Wesleyan.
In Grace’s opening match on Saturday, the Lancers blitzed by Oakland City in straight sets. Grace’s defense was stout, holding the Mighty Oaks to 23 kills, 21 errors and a .015 attack percentage.
By comparison, Grace’s offense hummed along with 45 kills on a .229 percentage.
The Lancers won the first two sets by double digits, winning 25-12 and 25-15. In the opening set, Grace exploded with 19 kills and only four errors.
In the third set, Grace used its bench extensively. The Mighty Oaks tried to fight off the sweep and trailed by two points at 22-20.
But Grace rattled off three straight points, including a block from Livia Tate and Claire Jackson as well as an ace and a kill from Jadyn Ross. Grace ended the match with a 25-20 victory.
Ross tied for the team lead with eight kills on a .368 percentage. Callie Jo Celichowski also impressed with eight kills on a .300 percentage, adding four block assists.
Sahara Bee collected 7 kills, 4 digs and 2 block assists, and Anna Elgin had six kills with two block assists.
Tate had four block assists, Leah Henderson had four kills, and Jackson added three kills and three block assists.
McKenzie Stakely (18 digs) and Liz Schmidt (15 digs) led Grace’s defense, and Riley Owens (20 assists, 9 digs) and Morgan Syoen (13 assists, 10 digs) directed the offense.
In the tournament finale for Grace, the Lancers were unable to deal the Saints their first defeat of the year.
Aquinas kept Grace at bay, finishing with 42 kills while holding the Lancers to 22 kills. The Saints secured the match 25-19, 25-16 and 25-19.
Bee was a bright spot on offense with six kills on a .308 percentage to go along with four block assists.
Tate had two solo and four block assists, Olivia Martinez added three kills with 10 digs, and Schmidt added 10 digs.

Lancers Enjoy Trio Of Goals On The Road
SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. - Grace’s women’s soccer team remained perfect on the young season with a 3-0 blanking of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on Saturday.
The Lancers used goals from three separate players to power the attack. Defensively, Grace (2-0) registered its second shutout in its first two matches.
The Pomeroys (1-2) were completely shut out on offense. Grace did not allow a single offensive stat — including zero shots and zero corner kicks — in the shutdown performance.
Goalkeeper Sofia Williams did not need to make a save in the shutout, and starting defenders Jasmin Slump, Lilli Oberhoff, Jaylin Young and Zoe Mueller eliminated SMWC’s attack.
For the game, Grace outshot SMWC 25-0. The Lancers also amassed 14 corner kicks.
Grace’s first goal came early in the match. Tori Twombly laid off a pass to Abby Hodkin, who curled her shot around the goalkeeper in the fourth minute.
Grace moved the ball around the field efficiently in the first half with constant forays into the Pomeroys’ end of the field.
Grace tacked on another goal with less than six minutes remaining in the first half. Feline Abbo beat her defender on the left edge of the penalty box and fired a low pass in front of the face of goal. Ellie Grieser received the pass and tapped in her shot to double the Lancers’ lead.
The Lancers strolled into halftime with their 2-0 lead firmly in place. Grace had 14 shots before halftime with 10 of those being on target.
Similar to the first half, Grace scored early again to begin the second half. The Lancers needed less than four minutes to find the back of the net on a strong spell of possession.
Twombly and Hodkin combined for a few quick passes just outside of the penalty box, giving Cassidy Felger space to operate on the right side.
Felger then linked up with Rylee Burns for a clinical give-and-go, and Felger rifled her shot past the goalkeeper for Grace’s third goal.
While the Lancers did not score again, the visitors still owned control of the match over the final 42 minutes. Grace had 11 shots in the second half to go along with eight corner kicks.
Rosalie Gefrorer came the closest to adding to Grace’s tally. She hit the post twice in short succession during the second half.
The Lancers are home next week for a pair of matches — the team’s first home games of the season. Grace will host Indiana Tech on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Rio Grande on Saturday at noon.