WINONA LAKE - Prior to the start of Grace College's volleyball match with Huntington University Friday, those in attendance at the Orthopaedic Capital Center honored Mallori Kastner with a moment of silence.
The Lady Lancers then honored their late teammate with a 3-0 win over their Mid-Central College Conference rivals, beating the Lady Foresters 25-8, 25-17 25-10."We've been through a whirlwind of emotions this week," said Grace College coach Andria Harshman, whose team improved to 9-7 overall and 3-0 in the MCC. "I'm not saying we've come full circle, but we understand we have a purpose. She was a great teammate. We miss her. We love her. At the same time, we know we have to play for her."
Kastner, 18, died early last Saturday morning when a tree fell on her at a Winona Lake residence. Jeremy Mohr, also a Grace College student, was injured in the accident and is still hospitalized.
Kastner's funeral was Wednesday in her hometown of Wabash, where she was a three-sport standout for the Apaches.
Friday night, in front of a large crowd at the OCC that honored Kastner by wearing orange - her favorite color, also the school color of her high school alma mater - the Lady Lancers played their first match since the accident.
Riding a wave of emotions, Grace was impressive in beating Huntington in three straight games.
"Sometimes athletes ride their emotions and turn that into great performances, and I think that's what happened tonight," Grace College Athletic Director Chad Briscoe said of the Lady Lancers' win. "It was an emotional week on campus, and they played pretty well for only being able to practice once. Everyone came together tonight to support the memory of Mallori, and also to show support for the Mohr family. The entire Grace family is hurting. And what you saw tonight was that we're all united."
Harshman wore an orange shirt that read "We (Love) No. 7."
Grace's players, who wore Kastner's initials on their jerseys, sported orange laces in their shoes, and some of the Lady Lancers painted their fingernails orange.
"Vibrant is a great word to describe her," Harshman said of Kastner. "She was so full of life. She loved people. She worked with campers, and she impacted so many kids. On the court, she was a baller. She could play volleyball. At our last game, she worked her way into the starting lineup as a freshman on an experienced team, and she got the game ball. She was fun to be around."
Despite the tragedy, spirits were still high Friday night, and the Lady Lancers seemed to feed off the enthusiastic crowd.
After winning the first two games in the best-of-five match, Grace clung to a 6-5 lead in the third game.
The Lady Lancers went on to stretch their advantage to 24-9 and put the finishing touches on the game and the Lady Foresters with a kill by Enrica Verrett.
Stephanie Lawson led Grace with 13 kills, while Stefanie Bolt had six kills and Arielle Walters and Verrett added five each.
Rachel Bult had a game-high 26 assists for the Lady Lancers.
A year ago, Grace won just eight matches overall and only posted two victories in the MCC.
With the emotional win Friday night, the Lady Lancers topped both marks from a year ago.
"We're definitely turning things around, and tonight is a big boost," said Harshman. "We have experienced players on the court. We're right up there with the top teams in the conference with court experience. We have girls who have played since they were freshmen. We're deeper, and we're better. We have better practices. The players have worked hard, and we're turning things around."
With the loss, Huntington fell to 2-16 overall and 0-5 in the MCC.
Courtney Berger and Melissa Grossman led the Lady Foresters with five kills each, while Emilie Jamison had nine assists.
Grace will be in action again today in a 7 p.m. match at MCC rival St. Francis.
