CROSS COUNTRY GETS CONFERENCE XC PREVIEW

Grace’s cross country team got to race on the upcoming conference course on Friday with the Bethel Invitational.

The men’s team placed 10th out of 16 teams while the women were 12th out of 20.

“I’m really happy for both the men and women today. Weslea Arthur and the majority of our men’s team tempo-ran this race as a controlled workout to get a feel for the course, and they did a great job with the paces we asked them to hit,” said Grace head coach Jake Poyner. “Suzi, Elizabeth and Rebekah all ran great races, and it was wonderful to have Mallory back after dealing with health issues.”

On the women’s side, Heather Plastow finished 31st out of 217 runners with a time of 19:48.

Suzanne Sickafoose was second for the Lady Lancers at 20:24, and Elizabeth Moore was next at 20:53.

Rebekah Rexroth crossed the finish line in 21:31, Weslea Arthur finished in 21:44, and Mallory Aker ended the race in 21:58.

The men’s team finished in a tight pack. Carter Meyer (27:52.8), Bryan Hernandez-Rios (27:52.9), Ben Rankin (27:53.3) and Isaac Beatty (27:53.5) incredibly all finished less than a second apart.

Dimitri Margaritidis was not far behind at 28:07, and Jonathan Balda was next at 28:38.

Logan Rufenacht (28:59), Dakota Thompson (29:00), John Marhefka (29:20), Zach Johnson (29:46), and Alex Brummett (29:48) rounded out the men’s squad.

“Zach Johnson took solid steps in the right direction after wrestling with injury earlier this season. Life as a competitive distance runner can be challenging when obstacles like injury and illness arise — it almost never seems fair, and it never occurs at the ‘right time.’ So we’ve talked a lot of being resilient and positive in how we heal up and return to competition,” Poyner continued. “Today really showcased that for a few of our runners, and I’m really proud of them for how their character and commitment to excellence was displayed.”

VOLLEYBALL TAKES PAIR OF FIVE SETTERS

Grace’s volleyball team picked up a pair of victories at the Cornerstone Classic on Friday.

The Lady Lancers played back-to-back matches on Friday, beating IU South Bend and the host Cornerstone in two 3-2 victories. Grace has now won four straight matches and is 9-2 over its past 11 contests.

“Our personnel continues to be adaptable and respond well to in-game adjustments,” said Grace head coach Katie Van Hofwegen. “Every game, someone new steps up. It’s been so fun to see how we continue to improve as a team.”

In the opening match, Grace’s offense powered the Lady Lancers (13-11) to a five-set victory. Grace had 65 kills compared to 51 for the Titans.

Alexa Hill racked up 57 assists, three off a career high. She directed three players to double-digit kills, led by 18 kills from Corynne Aelker, 17 from Gabbey Harrington and 15 from Katie Swanson.

The Titans (12-9) claimed the opening set 25-19, but Grace was swift in response. The Lady Lancers won the next two games 25-23 and 25-20 to go ahead.

Grace had its worst offensive set in the fourth game, however, allowing IUSB to win 25-20 and force a tiebreaker.

A pair of small runs gave Grace an 8-3 edge in the fifth set. Makaela Lochmueller had a kill and two blocks on three straight plays to spark Grace’s cushion. Aelker then pounded out three consecutive kills, and Grace cruised to a 15-9 victory. Harrington and Lochmueller had kills on the final two plays of the mach.

Aelker’s 18 kills came with five digs and three block assists, and Harrington’s 17 kills came on a .424 percentage.

Gina Novotny was an anchor on the back row, producing 33 digs which was one off her career best. Lochmueller had nine kills and four block assists, Emily Sharp had two aces and 14 digs, and Hill finished with a double-double of 57 assists and 17 digs.

In Friday’s final match, Grace spoiled Cornerstone’s home tourney with a win. The teams split the first two sets; Grace won the opener by six, and the Golden Eagles (10-10) answered with a nine-point win to tie the match.

The sides could barely be separated in the third set with the score tied at 19, 20, 21 and 22 apiece. At 22-22, Grace turned to Harrington for a kill to take the lead, and Makayla Bell clinched the game with back-to-back kills for a 25-22 win.

Cornerstone stayed alive with a 25-17 victory in the fourth, sending the Lady Lancers to their second five-setter of the night.

Early into the fifth set, Grace used a 5-2 spurt to gain separation thanks to back-to-back kills from Deborah Michalski. Not long after, Bell picked up three kills and a block over the final six plays to secure the victory 15-9.

Michalski and Harrington each had 12 kills to lead the Lady Lancers, and Bell had 10 kills and three block assists.

Lochmueller finished with eight kills and five block assists, Hill had 44 assists and 20 digs, and Novotny and Sharp each added 19 digs.

The Lady Lancers end the tournament on Saturday, playing Trinity Christian and Carroll in the afternoon.