Erwin tops 1,000 digs in Iowa

By Press release submission

Oct 18, 2022

Grace's volleyball team concluded its nonleague schedule over the weekend.

The Lady Lancers played three matches in Iowa at Grand View, including matches against Mayville State, Cardinal Stritch and Judson.

Grace Erwin earned an individual highlight during the weekend, eclipsing 1,000 career digs during Saturday morning's match.

MATCH #1 - MAYVILLE STATE

Grace's tournament opener on Friday nearly saw Grace complete a comeback, but Mayville State pulled out a back-and-forth five-setter.

The first set was the only set that was not close. MSU won the set 25-14 as Grace's offense sputtered with 12 attack errors.

In the second set, Grace trailed late 20-18 before Jadyn Ross produced back-to-back kills to even the score. The Lady Lancers then charged ahead, ending the set on a 5-1 run to win the set. Ross had two more kills late, including the final one to clinch the set.

The third set saw Grace take a late lead (21-17), but the Comets rallied. The set went to extra points with MSU winning 27-25.

The Comets won seven of the first eight points during the fourth set, but Grace countered with a 9-1 run of its own to stun MSU. The Lady Lancers maintained their edge, pulling away late for a 25-20 victory.

In the tiebreaker, MSU scored the first four points. But Grace rallied behind four kills from Katie Swanson to tie the score at 9-9.

But Grace was only able to produce one more kill over the final 10 rallies, eventually falling 15-13.

The Lady Lancers finished the match with 12 more kills, five more aces and five more digs than MSU. But the Comets also had six more block points and 14 fewer attack errors.

Ross set a career-high mark with 17 kills to lead all players, adding a double-double with 19 digs and five aces.

Liz Schmidt also set a career mark with 32 digs. Cassadi Colbert had 13 kills, Swanson had 11 kills and two solo blocks, and Livia Tate added 11 kills, 1 solo block and 2 block assists.

Morgan Syoen produced 26 assists and five kills, and Riley Owens had 21 assists and 10 digs. Grace Erwin had 13 digs, Paige Vander Foot had nine digs, and Sahara Bee tallied 7 kills, 4 digs and 2 block assists.

MATCH #2 - CARDINAL STRITCH

The second match of the tournament was on Saturday morning. Grace won the opening set before Cardinal Stritch rattled off three straight to win 3-1.

Grace Erwin reached a personal milestone in the match, recording the 1,000th dig in her Lady Lancer career.

The Lady Lancers trailed by three points midway into the opening set. But Grace unleashed a 10-2 run to charge in front for good. Jadyn Ross and Emma Blackford each had multiple aces during that run.

Ross and Sahara Bee notched late kills to help Grace win 25-21.

The second and third sets were fiercely contested; the teams were even until the final points with Cardinal Stritch managing to pull out both wins 25-22 and 25-23.

Grace gave up the first four points of the fourth set and never fully recovered. The Wolves finished the match with a 25-17 win.

MATCH #3 - JUDSON

The finale of the weekend was similar to the second match. Grace won the opener against Judson before losing the next three, ultimately succumbing in four sets.

In the first set, the score was knotted at 13 before Judson rattled off four unanswered points. Grace was not fazed, however, using an 8-2 run to seize momentum. Livia Tate had a pair of kills and two block points as well during that run.

Cassadi Colbert ended the set with two late kills, producing a 25-23 win.

Judson evened the match in the second set. The Eagles broke open an early tie, pulling ahead by as much as seven before holding on to win by three.

Grace began the third set positively; the Lady Lancers scored the set's first three points and eventually grabbed a 14-8 lead.

But the Eagles countered with a decisive 9-1 run, grabbing the lead for good. Late kills from Tate and Jadyn Block were not enough to keep the set alive as Grace lost 25-23.

Early in the fourth set, Judson rattled off seven consecutive points, and Grace never recovered. The Eagles clinched the match with a 25-13 win.

The Lady Lancers will jump back into Crossroads League play with three matches next week. Grace will host St. Francis on Wednesday and Spring Arbor on Saturday; they will also travel to Marian on Friday.