Grace Box Score | Mt. Vernon Box Score
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - After a 2-0 start on Friday at the Grace College Classic, the Lady Panthers came out with the exact opposite on Saturday. DU fell in four sets to the host Lancers before falling in a thrilling five set match to Mt. Vernon Nazarene.
The final match of pool play pitted Davenport against host Grace as the winner would advance to the championship match against IU-East. Unfortunately, the Lady Panthers could not string together consistent play as they fell in four sets (18-25, 18-25, 25-18, 18-25).
15 of the active 17 players for Davenport saw action as the coaches looked for someone to step up against the host school. The offense was once again very balanced as five different players posted at least four kills led by sophomore Kassie Graves (White Cloud) who finished with nine on 25 attempts.
Fellow second year player Kelse Moon (Fremont, Mich.) chipped in with seven kills and freshman Nicole Chase (Caledonia, Mich.) posted her highest total of her first season with six. Unfortunately the offense could not find much rhythm as they managed to hit at a .132 clip compared to .224 from the Lancers.
Defensively, DU was led by Courtney DePriest (Grand Rapids, Mich.) with 12 digs as Kayla Vandermolen (Cedar Springs, Mich.) and Kelse Moon each chipped in with one solo block.
The loss sent the Lady Panthers into the third place match against perennial NAIA power Mt. Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio). DU got off to a slow start but recovered to send the match to a fifth set but ran out of steam eventually falling (20-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23, 8-15).
The tight match was very evident in the final stats from the match but the Lady Panthers were hurt by a lot of their own mistakes with 16 attack errors and six receiving errors.
Two players, Joyce Larioza (Fowlerville, Mich.) and Brittany Bott(Hudsonville, Mich.) found double digits in the kill column as Larioza led the way with 16 (.467%) and Bott was just behind with 12 (.321%).
Vandermolen once again led the way in assists with 23 and three players, DePriest, Moon and Heather Deal (Ravenna, Mich.) posted double-digit digs.
At the conclusion of the tournament, DU co-captain Kayla Vandermolen was named to the All-Tournament Team. IU-East defeated Grace College in the championship match with a 3-0 victory.
Davenport will now have 13 days off until their next match when they travel to Milwaukee, WI to take part in the Cardinal Stritch Classic. DU will take on William Penn and St. Francis (Ind.) on Friday, September 3.
