Volleyball Team Leads Grace Roundup By Giving Coach 100th Win
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Josh Neuhart-
WINONA LAKE – Grace College’s volleyball team made short work of St. Francis on Saturday, sweeping the Cougars to give Grace head coach Andria Harshman her 100th coaching victory for the program. The Lady Lancers (15-5; 7-5 Crossroads League) recorded twice as many kills as the Cougars, pounding out 44 kills on a .243 percentage. The match also featured a deeper mission as Grace’s Cancer Care Game. The Lady Lancers donned special pink uniforms for the match. “A big injury last night caused us to switch up several starting positions for us, but I feel like we couldn’t have responded any better than we did today,” said Grace head coach Andria Harshman. “We changed up our lineup and focused on maintaining our energy and emotion. We have a better system going now to help us peak at the right time.” Grace jumped out to a 10-3 lead to kick off the match and never looked back. The Cougars (11-11; 5-6 CL) clawed back to within four points of Grace’s lead before ultimately falling 25-16. A dominant defensive effort fueled Grace in the second set en route to a 25-12 rout. The Cougars were stifled into a negative team hitting percentage of -.081. The Lady Lancers claimed another sizeable lead early in the third set, leading 12-3. St. Francis battled back to trim Grace’s lead to 17-15, but a huge kill from Dana Johnston gave Grace a boost. Grace clinched the match 25-20 on a kill from libero Hannah Clemmons. Taylor Baird produced 37 assists in three sets to spearhead Grace’s attack. She helped Johnston to 13 kills and Calah Kruse to 11 kills. Johnston also notched four of Grace’s 10 block assists. Megan Johnson finished with seven kills, and Kaitlin Kerrigan added five kills on 13 attempts. Hannah Clemmons led all players defensively with 15 digs, and Jessica Scherb chipped in with 13 digs. Harshman had earned her 99th coaching win on Friday in Grace’s sweep of Spring Arbor to set up the century-mark victory on Saturday. After Saturday’s victory, Harshman’s career record at Grace is 100-93. “It really is an honor to reach the 100-win mark. The honor really goes to the team,” Harshman said. “We recruited the right players, and this milestone is a testament to how the team performed. I’m just really proud of our players.” The Lady Lancers will aim to keep their momentum into next week’s match at Taylor on Wednesday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER MARION – Grace’s women’s soccer team earned a crucial win on the road, romping past Indiana Wesleyan 4-0 in convincing fashion on Saturday. Meredith Hollar scored twice, and Holly Bennett and Maile Grout netted goals in Lady Lancers’ (8-5; 5-0 Crossroads League) fifth straight victory. Grace’s win sets up a monumental clash with NAIA No. 8 Spring Arbor at Miller Field on Tuesday. The Lady Lancers and Cougars are tied for first in the Crossroads League with just four matches remaining in the regular season. “This was a good performance from the women today. The defense was very good and limited our opponent to very few chances,” said Grace head coach Michael Voss. “Our possession strung together several long bouts, and we finished our opportunities. This was a good team effort today.” Grace scored early against their league rivals when Mallory Rondeau picked out Meredith Hollar with a pass behind the Wildcats’ defensive line. Hollar finished the one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the 13th minute. Ten minutes later, Hollar doubled Grace’s lead off a great pass from Emily Hickerson. Hickerson found a lane on the left side of the field, cut along the end line and picked out an open Hollar for an easy finish in the penalty box. It was Hollar’s 11th goal of the season, and eighth goal in the past five games. In the 34th minute, a deep shot from Holly Bennett forced IWU’s goalkeeper to make a diving save. Bennett did not have to wait much longer before scoring, however. With just two minutes remaining in the opening half, Carianne Sobey played a ball to Jordan Hairgrove near the goal. Hairgrove’s position forced the Wildcats’ goalkeeper away from the net, and Hairgrove lofted a clever pass above the goalkeeper to Bennett in front of an empty net. Bennett’s goal handed the Lady Lancers a 3-0 lead at the halftime break. The Lady Lancers continued to pressure in the second half, outshooting the Wildcats (5-6-1; 2-3 CL) 11-2 over the final 45 minutes. Carmen Barnhill made a strong save to prevent Indiana Wesleyan from scoring with 30 minutes remaining, maintaining her clean sheet. Kaitlan Wiles was denied Grace’s fourth goal when her hard shot was saved after a lengthy build-up of possession. Maile Grout scored her first career goal in style with 14 seconds left in the game. Grout juked by a defender at the top of the box and laced a curling shot inside the right post for the final tally. Overall Grace held a 20-6 advantage in shot attempts. Grace’s defense of Heather Martin, Faith Voehringer, Jalisa Thayer and Erica Manchess limited Indiana Wesleyan to just three shots on goal.
MEN’S GOLF FORT WAYNE – Grace College’s Trey Stoll won his second tournament of the year with a two-day total of 139 (71-68) at the St. Francis Invitational at Brookwood Golf Club. In rainy and windy conditions, the Lancers produced their best tournament of the year with a two-day total of 609 (309-300). Taylor Fanning improved his first-day score by 12 strokes with a score of 152 (82-70). Caleb Rovenstine was consistent in shooting 77 both rounds. Taylor Breeden and Kyle Condon added 166 (81-85) and 165 (80-85) respectively to round out the scoring for the Lancer golfers. The Lancers also had three individuals playing. Kal Denlinger led the way with two rounds of 79 (158), while Zachary Allyn finished with 165 (85-80) and Micah Knoblock had 174 (87-87).
CROSS COUNTRY LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Grace’s cross country squads had strong representation at the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday in rainy conditions. The men’s team placed 16th while the Lady Lancers earned a fifth-place showing out of 33 teams in a downpour. “I’m very proud of how the women ran in heavy rain the whole race. They competed in a downpour and still posted decent times,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond. “Both teams were missing a top runner, but it was good to have Collin [Chupp] running again for the men after an injury. We are developing some good packs on the men’s side. We just have to move those packs forward a bit as the season moves forward.” In a field of 281 runners, Grace’s Katelyn McCullough finished in the top 20 individually to pace the Lady Lancers in 19:48. Tara Hamstra (20:48), Alexis Nelson (20:55) and Megan Gast (20:56) also ran well for Grace. On the men’s side, Collin Chupp finished in a team-low 28:12 for 60th place. Brandon Smith (28:26) and Tim Trapp (28:56) crossed the finish line in less than 29 minutes as well. Brendon Lengacher (29:15) and Hunter Reed (29:31) rounded out Grace’s top five finishers. Grace continues competition on Friday at the Bethel Invitational in South Bend.
