Lady Eagles Fall in Three to Grace

The Faith Lady Eagles volleyball team dropped their home contest Tuesday night to visiting NAIA Grace University. Faith fell in straight sets, 3-0, and is now 6-5 on the year. 

Set one found the Eagles locked in a tight battle with the visiting Royals. The teams went back and forth, with Grace finally able to gain just a little breathing room at 16-14. Faith called a timeout, but Grace didn't slow down, pushing the lead to 18-14 before Faith could regain the serve. The teams traded points, but Faith wasn't about to go without a fight. JoJo Hodak served three in a row to pull Faith even at 20 apiece. Again the teams traded serve, with Grace regaining the lead at 23-22. Grace then ended the match with two points to win 25-22 in set one. 

Game two was a mirror of game one, with Grace again taking a 17-14 lead to force a Faith timeout. Unfortunately, this time it was the Eagles who struggled out of the time out, with some unforced errors allowing Grace to push the lead to 19-14. Faith could not recover from those errors, losing the set 18-25.

Grace rode that momentum into set three, jumping out to an 8-1 lead and looked in control of the match. Faith dug deep behind Emily Wolfe's serving, pulling back within one, 9-10. Faith would hang with Grace for the next several points, trailing 19-21, but could get no closer as Grace ended the set and the match with a 25-21 victory.

The Lady Eagles return to action at home on Friday. Faith will play in a triangular with Emmaus Bible College and Calvary Bible College. Emmaus and Calvary will play at 4:00 PM, followed by Faith and Emmaus at 6 PM. Faith will play Calvary in the night cap, scheduled to begin at 8:00 PM.