WINONA LAKE – The Grace College volleyball team punched its ticket to the NCCAA Nationals with a convincing 3-1 victory over Oakland City on Thursday at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. The Lady Lancers (27-10) will make their third trip in four years to Kissimmee, Fla., thanks to the three-headed attack of Calah Kruse, Tori Bontrager and Sierra Smith. The win marks the first time in program history where a four-year class has earned three trips to a national tournament. In the opening set, the teams battled back and forth until Grace gained separation at the midway point. The Mighty Oaks (16-9) fought back to within two points of Grace’s lead, but Grace eased away to a 25-19 win on a kill from Smith. Oakland City jumped ahead early in the second set and never looked back. Grace battled off two set points before ultimately falling 25-21. The Mighty Oaks again led early during the third set, claiming a 6-2 advantage. The Lady Lancers responded with an 8-2 run to grab the lead at 10-8. Grace scored four straight points to break open a 14-14 deadlock. Another timely 5-1 run late in the game gave Grace the cushion it needed, and Kari Feddema’s kill down the line won the set 25-20. The Lady Lancers made short work of the Mighty Oaks in the fourth set, winning 25-15 on a service ace from Jessica Scherb. Grace’s offense cruised with 12 kills on just two errors in the set. Kruse finished with a double-double of 15 kills on a .308 percentage and 15 digs. Bontrager had 13 kills on a .480 percentage, and Smith tallied 12 kills on a .320 percentage. Ellie Harp passed out 44 assists with four kills, and Hannah Clemmons had a match-high 21 digs. Sara Miller chipped in with 13 digs and Kaitlin Kerrigan tallied six kills and nine digs.
