Goshen, IN — In the brief,
three-year history of the Maple Leaf Invitational, the Goshen
College volleyball team has maintained a perfect .500 record,
winning six matches while dropping that very amount. The Leafs
continued that trend this weekend, defeating Robert Morris College
and Grace Bible College but falling to both Taylor University-Fort
Wayne and the University of Michigan-Dearborn in the fourth annual
Maple Leaf Invite.
“Overall, we gained important match experience during this
tournament,” said
Jewel Lehman, Goshen head coach. “I felt we were able to
work out some of the issues, technical and tactical, that have
been holding us back thus far in the season. Communication and
intensity were up and statistically we are performing much better
than previously.”
Goshen’s 2-2 record during the two-day round-robin tournament
was at least acceptable to Lehman in part due to the Leafs’ 0-11
record heading into the weekend, the first time Goshen had entered
its invitational winless on the season. The “home” matches — games
were played on the two auxiliary courts in lieu of the Leafs’ main
arena — also concluded a 22-day long span of road travels
for Goshen, the longest regular-season road stretch for any team
in the program’s 36-year history.
“It was our hope that we could learn some things on the road,
and I think we did, but it was definitely good to be playing back
at
home,” Lehman said.
Goshen (2-13, 0-2) didn’t appear too comfortable in its first
match of the weekend, falling to Taylor-Fort Wayne by a 24-30,
30-21, 32-30, 29-31, 11-15 score in its first five-game match of
the year and the longest face-off since a 28-30, 25-30, 30-23,
30-27, 16-14 win over Concordia University on Oct. 30 of last season.
As the scores indicated, the match was hotly contested throughout,
with the teams trading momentum and leads in what seemed like every
time the ball touched the floor.
Sadly, Goshen fell behind in the fifth and deciding stanza largely
due to unforced errors, a problem Lehman said has been plaguing
the team all season.
“A missed serve and two hitting errors early in the (fifth)
game made it difficult to recover,” she said. “Although
I was pleased with the overall performance, I am still frustrated
that we weren’t able to come through when the match was on
the line. Too many and ill-timed missed serves allowed Taylor-Fort
Wayne to stay in the match when we could have taken control. These
are indicative of our youth. This match was important for us knowing
that we gain valuable experience with each battle. We showed important
improvements in court communication and intensity as well as increased
statistical performance overall from last week.”
The Leafs committed 16 service errors in the five-game loss, over
double its season-average. Lehman’s squad did post a .233
attack percentage and rattled off a team 11 kills per game, putting
the pressure on the Lady Falcons throughout. Senior Anna Herdeck
was a load on the outside, finishing with 20 kills on a .211 attack
percentage to go with 14 digs and a perfect 18 for 18 serving performance.
Sophomore Carly Feldman got her weekend off on the right foot by
drilling 18 kills on a team-leading .326 attack percentage, scooping
19 digs as well and boasting a .927 serve-receive percentage off
of 51 opportunities. Freshman walk-on Betsy Freeman performed well
up front also, belting six kills on a .333 attack percentage. Junior
Danielle Haney provided eight kills and two solo and three assist
blocks, while sophomore Jessica Buller returned to her setting
position to dish out 37 assists on 123 sets to go with 13 digs.
Classmate Christina Leichty also had 13 digs.
Visibly shaken after losing by far its most competitive match of
the season, the Leafs somehow had to regroup for its second match
of the night just minutes later. Incredibly, Lehman’s team
turned in perhaps its best effort of the season, knocking off the
Eagles by a 30-27, 30-24, 30-22 sweep, earning its first win of
the season in the process.
“This match began later than scheduled Friday due to the
extended match against Taylor-Fort Wayne,” Lehman said. “After
a short break, we came out strong and continued with solid team
offensive (.190 team attack percentage) and defensive performances
(five solo blocks, 10 assist blocks, 37 digs) this evening.”
Feldman again led the charge up front knocking in a team-best 12
kills on an incredible .500 attack percentage, adding two solo
and three assist blocks on the defensive side of the net. Herdeck
wasn’t far behind, tallying eight kills. Buller dished out
15 assists to go with 12 digs and four service aces, while Haney
placed six kills on .333 attack percentage and blocked two Eagle
attacks on her own and another two with assistance.
“Jess Buller has been running the offense effectively since
returning to the setter position,” Lehman said. “Robert
Morris struggled to earn points in the match and they did not bring
the
level of play we expected from them. I was impressed with the effort
our players put forth after the tough loss in the previous match.
We were especially pleased to record our first win of the season
and are excited about the progress we’ve seen.”
That progress carried over to Saturday morning, as the Leafs decimated
a clearly overmatched Grace Bible College by a 30-15, 30-12, 30-15
score. Goshen pummeled the Tigers with a team .344 attack percentage
and 13.3 kills per game, never letting Grace Bible out of the box.
Feldman and Herdeck were again the ring leaders at the net, posting
15 and 12 kills, respectively with Feldman attacking at an amazing
.560 percentage and Herdeck at .367. Feldman had a team-leading
17 digs as well. Haney added eight kills on a .263 average while
Buller notched 35 assists on just 82 sets. Freshman Caitlin Helmuth
led a staunch effort at the service line, knocking out three aces
en route to 11 for the team.
“The key elements in this win were the high team attack average
(.344), 13.3 kills per game, eight blocks, 11 service aces, and
12 assists per game,” Lehman said. “Jess set well and
Grace Bible was not able to stop Anna, Carly or Danielle (2.7 kpg)
at the net.”
Looking to keep its sudden win streak alive and have at least a
small chance at a part of the invitational championship, Goshen
concluded the event facing Michigan-Dearborn, a team undefeated
through its first three matches on the weekend. And, even with
a valiant effort, Goshen could not pull of the feat, falling by
a 21-30, 18-30, 21-30 score to the eventual tournament champs.
“Michigan-Dearborn played a solid match while we were playing
catch up much of the match,” Lehman said. “Dearborn
passed very well throughout the match and, therefore, were able
to get
the ball to their best attackers. Although their offense wasn’t
as quick and deceptive as some other teams we’ve seen this
year, several of our hitters struggled against their big block
and relentless defense.”
Feldman and Herdeck were again the big two for Lehman’s offensive
causes, charting 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Feldman hit .258
while Herdeck posted a .146 attack percentage. The duo also paced
the team defensively, coming up with 17 digs (Feldman) and 14 digs
(Herdeck) while Feldman notched two solo blocks to go with an assist
block. Haney was the only other player to record more than a single
kill on the match (three), and was a part of four assist blocks.
Buller finished with 25 assists on 94 sets. She also had 11 digs.
“We blocked fairly well and we dug 59 of their hits,” Lehman
said. “I was pleased to see our team serve percentage go
up from the last several games (93 percent with just four service
errors). There are a number of areas that still need significant
improvement, however, we all are encouraged to see the team coming
together and we look forward to continued development in the coming
weeks.”
Michigan-Dearborn won the invitational championship going 4-0 on
the weekend. For a complete look at the final team standings and
composite match scores, click here.
Goshen will take a brief hiatus before returning to the Roman Gingerich
Center for Mid-Central Conference action, as the team will host
Spring Arbor University Wednesday evening. Match time is set for
7 p.m.
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  Sophomore
Carly Feldman
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