OCT. 25 — Early Lead Evaporates In 1-3 Loss To Grace
Goshen's early surge doesn't pan out, as team drops MCC decision at home

Goshen, IN — Looking to double its win total in the Mid-Central Conference, things appeared to be going to plan early Tuesday night for the Goshen College women’s volleyball team.

The squad led MCC foe Grace College by a 24-18 score in the first game, and were threatening to grab the match by the throat at the Roman Gingerich Center.

That’s when the Lancers proved they had other ideas.

In a remarkable rally, Grace scored 12 of the next 13 points to steal game one from the Leafs, effectively silencing the home crowd and taking control of the match. And while Goshen (6-22, 1-6) was able to regroup to take a game from the Lancers later on, the first game breakdown proved too costly in a 25-30, 19-30, 30-23, 13-30 loss.

“We played well in the first half of the first game and were in a position to win,” said Jewel Lehman, Goshen head coach. “We struggled a bit with serve receive and this allowed Grace to pull ahead and take the game. Throughout the match, they served tough and ultimately our passers couldn’t handle them.”

That trait was apparent in Goshen’s 19 serve receive errors on the night, hindering the team to just a .838 serve receive percentage, over .050 points below its season average. Those misses gave Grace uncontested points, an allowance that Lehman said can’t be given to a team in the upper half of the league.

“We knew going into this match that we needed to stop their two primary hitters (Jessica Hicks and Candace Burns) at the net,” Lehman said. “We had a few blocks, but we were not able to shut them down enough to take them out of their game. We struggled to get into our offensive rhythm because our passes and sets were not there. Our attackers weren’t terminating the play and therefore we kept giving their hitters multiple chances to swing at us.”

Grace took advantage of those opportunities, finishing with 54 kills among their top four attackers. Goshen, meanwhile, could only generate 38 kills as a team, attacking at a .098 percentage.

Sophomore Carly Feldman continued to be the strong point at the net, finishing with a team-high 14 kills on a .231 attack percentage. Senior Anna Herdeck tallied 11 finishes at the net to go along with a team-best 21 digs. Freshman Caitlin Helmuth dug 10 balls in a defensive specialist role, while sophomore Stephanie Kennell provided four aces from the service line. Classmate Jess Buller ran the offense, generating 34 assists on 125 sets.

“I was pleased to see that defensively we are playing much better than earlier in the season,” Lehman said. “We let a few balls drop in the middle, but our pursuit of errant balls is much more consistent.”

Goshen will next compete in the Huntington University Tri-Match on Saturday. The team will face the host Foresters in a non-MCC match at 10 a.m. and then will play University of Michigan-Dearborn at 12 p.m.