Hill, Blackwell Again Atop The List
WINONA LAKE – Grace had some usual suspects earning national honors.
Grace’s volleyball team picked up two awards on Monday for individual performances and women’s soccer once again were atop the lists.
Alexa Hill was named the NCCAA National Player of the Week, and Gina Novotny won the Crossroads League Defender of the Week for the Lady Lancer volleyball program.
Hill racked up 13.0 assists per set for Grace’s volleyball team. She added 2.4 digs per set defensively.
In a win against Mt. Vernon Nazarene, Hill passed out a career-high 63 assists with eight digs and four kills. She also posted a 53-assists, 13-dig performance in just four sets against Spring Arbor.
Novotny tallied 57 digs over three matches for the Lady Lancers. She averaged 4.8 digs per set, including at least 15 digs in every match.
The Lady Lancers have one match this week — a home outing against No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Bethany Blackwood of Grace’s women’s soccer team won two awards on Monday for her goalkeeping last week.
Blackwood was named the Defensive Player of the Week by the NCCAA and the Crossroads League.
Blackwood registered two shutouts for No. 17 Grace. She made five saves and allowed zero goals in 180 minutes, including a four-save shutout of No. 18 Spring Arbor.
For the season, she has seven shutouts in 12 matches to help the Lady Lancers to a 14-2-1 record.
Grace ends the regular season on Wednesday, playing at Marian at 7 p.m. Grace will earn a top-two finish in the league with a victory. A win plus a loss by Indiana Wesleyan means Grace would share the conference crown for the second straight year.