Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - In a marquee battle atop the Crossroads League, Grace’s volleyball team finished ahead of No. 7 Indiana Wesleyan on Wednesday.
The No. 23 Lancers beat the Wildcats 3-2 in a memorable five-setter. Grace’s record improves to 20-3 (8-1 Crossroads League). The Lancers have won 17 of their past 18 matches.
With the win, Grace moves into sole possession of first place in the league standings, breaking a tie with the Wildcats (14-5, 7-2 CL).
The first set saw the teams exchange runs. IWU led 15-11, but Savannah Clawson and Anna Elkin sparked a 7-2 run with four combined kills.
The Wildcats recovered to pull ahead by two (21-19), but Grace ended the set on a tear. The Lancers scored the final six points of the set, propelling away for a 25-21 victory.
Grace had five players with three kills in the opening set. The Lancers had 15 kills on just two errors (.325 percentage).
The Wildcats came roaring back, exploding with 19 kills in a swift second-set win, evening up the match.
In the third set, Grace sped out to a fast 12-5 advantage. Callie Jo Celichowski produced back-to-back kills, and Elkin followed up with three kills in a row.
IWU tried to rally late, trimming the deficit to four. But a pair of kills down the stretch from Molly Hofmann handed the Lancers a 25-20 win.
The fourth set saw Grace open up a five-point edge at 15-10. IWU called timeout and bounced back to even the score at 18s.
The score was knotted again at 21-21. The Wildcats then won four of the final five rallies to claim a narrow 25-22 win, forcing the match into a fifth set.
In the decisive tiebreaker set, Levyn Snow and Hofmann began the scoring with consecutive kills. IWU outpaced the Lancers after that, however, and held an 8-6 lead at the midway mark.
Grace dialed up its attack at that point, and the offense delivered. The Lancers scored five unanswered points to storm in front 11-8, blowing through an IWU timeout in the process.
Grace then won the last four points of the match, ending the evening 15-10 on a block point from Elkin and Celichowski.
The boisterous home crowd at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center erupted with the top-10 upset.
Hofmann was lethal with 17 kills and one error for a hitting percentage of .364. Elkin produced 14 kills, 7 digs and 2 aces, and Celichowski had 12 kills (.440 percentage) and three block assists.
Snow and Clawson each produced eight kills, and Abby Leffring added five kills and five block assists.
Reagan Owens led all players with 26 digs while also dishing out 11 assists for a double-double. Carsyn Witt (23 assists, 15 digs) and Reese McCutchan (24 assists, 13 digs) set up Grace’s attack, while Olivia Martinez added 14 digs.
The Lancers are on the road for their next three matches, starting next Wednesday at St. Francis.
