Grace Blanks Saint Francis
FORT WAYNE – The Grace College volleyball team ended its 2012 regular season on a strong note with a convincing 3-0 victory over host Saint Francis on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Lady Lancers clinched the No. 4 seed in the Crossroads League, assuring themselves a home match in the first round of the CL Tournament.
Dana Johnston tallied a match-high 13 kills on a .440 percentage as the Lady Lancers (21-13; 11-7 CL) bested Saint Francis in nearly every statistical category.
The Cougars (10-23; 4-14 CL) appeared on their way to an opening-set win as they pulled ahead 23-20 in the final stages of the first set. But the Lady Lancers showed their resiliency as two kills from Johnston sparked Grace to five straight points and a 25-23 win.
Grace used that momentum to open up a 10-2 lead in the second half and did not look back. The defense of the Lady Lancers held Saint Francis to a -.051 team hitting percentage as Grace won the second set 25-16.
In the third and final set, Grace’s offense tallied 17 kills as the Lady Lancers never trailed in a six-point victory.
As a team, Grace recorded 11 more kills, 10 more assists and 12 more digs than Saint Francis.
Calah Kruse recorded seven kills and 11 digs for Grace, and Annie Salazar chipped in with 13 digs. Bethany Whitcraft (19 assists) and Sarah Tullis (17 assists) paced Grace from the setter position, and Arielle Walters led all players with four block assists.
Grace will host fifth-seeded Marian University in the opening round of the CL Tournament on Tuesday at 7 p.m.