The Grace College volleyball team celebrates Wednesday night during a 3-1 home win over Taylor (Photo provided by the Grace College Sports Information Department)

WINONA LAKE – The Grace College volleyball team secured a much-needed win, taking down rival Taylor 3-1 on Wednesday night.

The Lady Lancers (9-8, 1-4 Crossroads League) used balanced production to take down Taylor, who is receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25.

Four players reached double-digit kills for Grace, led by Kelsee Zuidema’s 13 kills. Tori Bontrager had 12 kills on a .435 percentage, and Kari Feddema and Sierra Smith each notched 11 kills.

For the match Grace hit at a .205 percentage. The Lady Lancers had 22 more kills than the Trojans (6-6, 3-1 CL), 19 more assists and 17 more digs.

Grace started the stronger of the two teams in the opening set, forcing Taylor to burn a timeout after just the ninth rally. The Lady Lancers maintained their lead throughout the game, however, easing away to a 25-20 win.

Taylor held a slight lead for much of the second set. Grace nearly recovered from a four-point hole late in the game, but the Trojans managed to tie the match 25-21.

In the third set, Grace found itself in trouble. Taylor scored eight of the first 10 points and still led 13-5 when coach Katie Van Hofwegen called her first timeout. Her strategy seemed to pay off as Grace battled to within three at 20-17. A Taylor timeout could not stem Grace’s momentum, however, as the Lady Lancers scored four straight points to take the lead 21-20 on a kill from Kelsee Zuidema. Taylor fought off two set points, but Kari Feddema ended things with an emphatic kill in the middle to win it 25-23.

The fourth set was hotly contested throughout the game. Grace’s offense eventually helped the Lady Lancers pull ahead down the stretch with 18 kills and just seven errors. Sara Miller made an outstanding defensive play on the final point, leading Grace to a match-clinching 25-22 win.

“We played great tonight. We’ve made a lot of changes in practice, and the girls responded well. We came out with energy and fire, and it made all the difference,” Van Hofwegen said. “Our hitters connected well with the setters, which kept the defense off-balance. Sara [Miller] and Caylie [Teel] played great defense and passed solidly for us, and we served tough. Everything we’d been working hard in practice all week transitioned onto the court tonight. We’re excited to see how that progresses.”

Taylor Baird (27 assists) and Laken Chaney (26 assists) split the setting duties on the night. Miller topped her career-high with 32 digs, and Kaitlin Kerrigan added eight kills and 17 digs. Caylie Teel had nine assists, and Naarah Foster chipped in four kills.

The Lady Lancers have two more home matches remaining this week. Grace hosts Spring Arbor on Friday at 7 p.m. and St. Francis on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.