Grand Rapids, MI — It was
a strong opening and closure to this weekend’s 12-team
Cornerstone University Golden Eagles Invitational for the Goshen
College volleyball program, as the Leafs opened with a 30-28,
30-27, 27-30, 28-30, 15-8 win over Siena Heights University Friday
night and concluded play with a hard-fought 36-34, 28-30, 30-25,
16-30, 13-15 loss to Trinity Christian College Saturday afternoon.
Between those matches were a pair of three-game losses — the
first to host Cornerstone 10-30, 20-30, 9-30 and the second to
Campbellsville University 23-30, 30-32, 20-30 — but head
coach Jewel Lehman was focused on the positives that her team
pulled from the prestigious event.
“We had a couple really good matches this weekend and a couple
that we didn’t play particularly well, but we are slowly
beginning to do the little things that it takes to win, even details
that
we struggled with a week ago,” Lehman said. “We ended
the weekend on a positive note and with a day off Sunday we are
looking forward to getting into practice on Monday and building
on what we accomplished.”
Goshen (4-18, 1-4) came into the event riding the emotion that
came with Tuesday’s big win over Mid-Central Conference foe
Huntington University (click here for article), and that enthusiasm
was apparent against Siena Heights. After blasting by the Saints
30-28 and 30-27 in the match’s first two stanzas, things
got tighter: Siena Heights rallied to reverse the scores in the
third and fourth games, setting up a deciding fifth game. It was
Lehman’s squad that came to life, taking the 15-point set
by a 15-8 count and getting the type of start to the tournament
it was looking for.
“I was pleased to see that we were able to play with confidence
and intensity at the end of this first match,” Lehman said. “This
demonstrates growth and progress for the team and to see that our
work in practice is showing more in game play.”
As expected with any five-game win, the stats were gaudy throughout
the lineup. Senior Anna Herdeck was near the top of the list in
several categories, finishing with a team-high 23 digs to go with
21 kills on a .269 attack percentage. Sophomore Carly Feldman posted
22 kills on a .261 hitting percentage, digging 20 balls and providing
one solo and three assist blocks. Classmate Stephanie Kennell continued
to show resurging confidence in front row play following a severe
ankle sprain recovery, notching nine kills to go with 11 digs and
three service aces. Sophomore Jess Buller finished with 47 assists
and 12 digs, while classmate Christina Leichty scooped 15 balls
off the floor. Buller and Feldman also posted three aces from the
service line, while freshman Betsy Freeman tallied two aces and
11 digs.
As a team, Goshen finished with 98 digs and 11 service aces, hitting
.183 while successfully picking up Saint serves at a .876 percentage.
“We made some great defensive plays, blocking and passing,” Lehman
said. “In this tournament there were three matches being
played on the gym floor in close proximity. The noise in the gym
affected communication some, but we were able to get through it.”
Following the match, however, Freeman began experiencing pain in
her foot. Upon talking with the Cornerstone athletic training personnel,
Lehman elected to keep Freeman out of the Leafs’ subsequent
match against the host Golden Eagles. While Freeman’s absence
did not help Goshen, her playing might not have made much of a
difference: Cornerstone allowed Goshen just 39 points in a quick,
three-game sweep.
“We really weren’t in this match very much at all,” Lehman
said. “Cornerstone typically has a strong program, but we
didn’t challenge them to show us what they have.”
Herdeck and Feldman again paced the Leafs’ offense, only
at a much lesser rate than in the squad’s first match. Herdeck
finished with eight kills and Feldman nine, though neither attacked
at a clip above .030. Kennell also struggled at the net, finding
five kills on a -.105 hitting percentage. Feldman finished with
10 digs and Herdeck nine. Buller notched just 19 assists on 102
sets.
Saturday morning against Campbellsville, Freeman returned to the
lineup, and Goshen’s play was slightly better. The Leafs’ hitting
and defense improved from the Cornerstone match, but the team could
not find enough muster to take the Tigers in any game.
Goshen’s
best chance came in the second stanza, but Campbellsville found
enough at the end to thwart a late Leaf run, taking the game by
a 30-32 count.
Feldman was a force at the net in the loss, coming up with 17 kills
on a .244 attack percentage and two solo and two assist blocks.
No other player registered more than five kills and two assist
blocks. Buller again ran the offense as well as could be expected,
firing 121 sets and winding up with 33 assists, all with just one
ball handling error.
It was the last of the Leafs’ four matches that impressed
Lehman the most, however, as Goshen battled back and forth with
Trinity Christian in a match that could have gone either way. After
going extra points in the first stanza to take a 36-34 win, Goshen
dropped the second game by a 28-30 count. After a 30-25 win in
game three, the Leafs again dropped their guard, falling 16-30
in the fourth. A fifth and deciding game went back and forth, but
Goshen allowed the Trolls an early two-point advantage and could
never make it up. The team dropped the final chapter by a 13-15
score.
“We came out really strong after a tough loss to Campbellsville
earlier in the day,” Lehman said. “In the first game
we really got the momentum and rattled off quite a few points in
a row. Unfortunately we got stuck in a couple of rotations that
allowed Trinity to battle back into the game. We showed a lot of
composure and maturity, though, as we stayed in the game mentally
and physically to pull ahead. In game two we came out a little
complacent and allowed them to take control and eventually win
it. Game three we were able to regroup and do what we needed to
do for the win. We allowed them to totally control the pace of
game four from the outset, and game five was a fight. We just couldn’t
make up the two points they got on us early.”
Herdeck and Feldman each posted impressive numbers in the heartbreaking
loss, with Herdeck each tallying 23 kills and Herdeck scooping
18 digs. Feldman contributed in seven blocks, while Kennell registered
15 digs and seven kills. Freshman Caitlin Helmuth played well defensively,
tallying 11 digs to go with three service aces. As a team, Goshen
finished with 64 digs and a tremendous serve receive percentage
of .955, scoring six aces from the service line while making nine
errors.
Buller played perhaps her best match of the season at the setter
position, finishing with a season-high 50 assists on 195 sets.
She made must two ball handling errors.
“Although we lost the match we did some very good things
that we had yet to see this season,” Lehman said. “Every
member of our team really played good defense and showed a tremendous
amount of determination to keep the ball off the floor. In addition
to Anna’s and Carly’s outstanding efforts, Stephanie
created lots of opportunities for us offensively with her serve
receive passing. Jess had a very solid setting game, and I was
pleased to see her jump setting more often. She made good decisions
and opened up our offense with the choices she made. We allow teams
to stay in matches sometimes by allowing them to run off points
in bunches. We still need to work on learning how to really finish
a game with intensity and then we will be winning many more matches.”
Cornerstone took the invitational championship, going undefeated
over the weekend. MCC foe Spring Arbor University also finished
the tournament with an unscathed record, but the Golden Eagles
won the tie-break procedure due to individual games won and lost.
For a complete look at the tournament results and box scores, click
here.
Goshen will now take a few days to prepare for a return to conference
play, as the team will travel to perennial power Indiana Wesleyan
University on Wednesday night. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
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  Sophomore
Jess Buller
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