Grace College celebrated a 3-0 win Friday over Cornerstone. File photo courtesy Jeff Nycz, Mid-South Images

Grace 3, Cornerstone 0

Grace College’s volleyball team completed a perfect opening day at Bethel’s Liz Hossler Classic on Friday.

The Lady Lancers started the tournament with a 3-0 sweep of No. 24 Cornerstone; the squad returned to action in the evening and beat Indiana Tech in four sets.

In the opening set against Cornerstone, Grace (5-2) seemed to be evenly matched. The Lady Lancers held a narrow 16-15 advantage before taking control of the set.

Service aces from Grace Erwin and Riley Owens fueled a 9-3 Grace run that allowed the Lady Lancers to take the opening set 25-18.

In the second set Grace seemed poised to cruise to an easy victory. A pair of scoring runs, boosted by kills from Kate Sperry and Owens, allowed Grace to secure a 17-9 lead.

Cornerstone answered back with nine straight points to recapture the lead at 18-17. Grace ended the run when Sperry and Syoen teamed up for a kill.

The Lady Lancers were on the cusp of taking the second set with a 24-20 lead, but the Golden Eagles had one last surge in them. Grace had five set points before a kill from Anna Frey gave the Lady Lancers the set and the stranglehold on the match.

After surrendering the first point in set number three, Grace never trailed again.

The Lady Lancers, who saw an eight-point lead whittled down to one, claimed the match after Alisha Leffring’s kill secured set three 25-23.

In the second match of the afternoon, the Lady Lancers fought to a 3-1 victory over the Warriors.

In set one Grace quickly grabbed a 3-0 lead. The lead was short lived as Indiana Tech battled ahead 14-11 midway through the set.

Jadyn Ross had a pair of kills, helping Grace rattle off six straight points to regain the lead at 17-14.

The two teams went back and forth before Jenna Mueller blocked an Indiana Tech attack for the set-sealing point.

The Lady Lancers maintained momentum heading into the second set.

After a trio of kills from Leffring gave Grace a 13-11 lead, the Lady Lancers never looked back. Grace took set two 25-18, ending on a kill from Frey.

The third set saw the teams clash long into extra points. The largest lead of the set was just three points when Grace held a 14-11 advantage.

The Warriors led 24-23, giving them the first shot at a set point. The two teams combined for eight more energy-filled set points before Grace finally fell 32-20.

Undaunted from dropping their first set of the day, the Lady Lancers came out with a purpose in set four.

Grace went on a 13-5 run to open the set. The Lady Lancers earned points from five different players during the run.

Leffring capped off the impressive day for the Lady Lancers with a well-placed attack that gave Grace set four 25-18.

The Lady Lancers will return to action tomorrow for day two of the Liz Hossler Classic. They take on Concordia at 9 a.m. and Cumberland at 1 p.m.