Grace ends tourney with another win

By Press release submission

Aug 26, 2022

Grace concluded its season-opening weekend with its third victory at the Onset Invitational.

The Lady Lancers won three out of four matches at Fort Wayne's Memorial Coliseum. Grace fell to Lawrence Tech in the morning match on Saturday but rebounded for a five-set win against Siena Heights.

In the final match of the tournament, Grace and Siena Heights could scarcely be separated.

SHU took the lead early in the first set and held on late. Grace rallied from a 16-10 deficit thanks to a trio of kills from Jadyn Ross. The score was knotted at 20-20 before the Saints snuck ahead to win by three.

The second set was a memorable one. Back-to-back kills from Cassadi Colbert put Grace ahead 12-9, and the teams exchanged small leads over the next stretch.

SHU served for the set with a 24-23 lead, but Jadyn Block kept Grace alive with a kill. Katie Swanson then thwarted off two more set points with a pair of clutch kills.

Riley Owens followed up Swanson's second kill with an ace, and freshman Livia Tate capped off the comeback with a kill to help Grace win 28-26.

The Saints struck back in the third set to win by five and seize control of the match.

But the Lady Lancers were not fazed by the deficit. The fourth set was another tight one; SHU held an 18-16 edge, but Grace pushed in front with a 5-1 spurt.

Colbert had two more kills down the stretch, and Swanson ended the set at 25-21 with a kill to force a tiebreaker.

Grace's momentum carried into the fifth set. Colbert had a pair of early kills, and Emma Blackford aced to help Grace to a 7-2 lead.

The Lady Lancers had nearly as many aces (3) as they did kills (4) in the final set, rolling to an emphatic 15-8 win to complete the come-from-behind victory.

Grace finished with 12 aces in the match, including four from Grace Erwin. Erwin and Ross tied for match honors with 27 digs; Ross registered a double-double with 10 kills as well.

Colbert had 15 kills on a .371 percentage, and Block had 14 kills. Tate ended with 7 kills, 2 solo blocks and 1 block assists, and Swanson added eight kills.

Blackford impressed with 16 digs and two aces, Morgan Syoen tallied 46 assists and 14 digs, and Owens served up four aces.

The Lady Lancers will take on a second tournament next week with a three-match classic at Lourdes University in Ohio.