Cougars Suffer Tough Loss in the End to Grace Lancers

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Wednesday evening the (RV) University of Saint Francis Cougars (14-15; 7-6 Crossroads) traveled to Winona Lake, Indiana to take on the Grace College Lancers (9-18; 4-9 Crossroads) and couldn't manufacture momentum as they fell in three sets by scores of 25-20, 25-20, and 25-21.

In the opening set the Cougars and Lancers started back-and-forth opening a 6-6 tie. But then Grace got a spark and went on to score on 10 of the next 12 rallies to take a 16-8 lead, and the Cougars were never able to catch back up even though they clawed back to make it close losing by five.

Heading into the second set it was Grace that jumped out to an early 7-3 lead and continued to build upon it eventually leading by seven on a couple of occasions. But like they did in the opening frame, the Cougars fought back to close the deficit to within five but that's as close as they came losing again by five and finding themselves in a two-game hole.

Now in the third set it was the Cougars who bounced back and went ahead 9-5 to open the frame and used that early lead to build upon throughout the frame.

The Cougars led 21-16 late in the frame, but then the Lancers fought back to go on a four-point service run to close the gap to 21-20 before Saint Francis called a timeout. But Grace kept pressing and went on to score in nine of the last 10 rallies as the Cougars suffered the tough loss.

Throughout the match senior defensive specialist Maile Steckelberg led the Cougars in digs with 18 while sophomore setter Alexa Sparks led the way in assists with 25 and Haidyn Carrico and Addison Shafer combined for 20 kills.

The Cougars resume play on Friday evening when they return home to Hutzell Athletic Center to take on the No. 17 Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats (18-5; 9-3 Crossroads) beginning at 7:00 pm.

Cougar fans, stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting Saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.