Goshen, IN — From the outset
of Wednesday night’s Mid-Central Conference match with
the Spring Arbor University Cougars, it appeared that the Goshen
College volleyball team had found its collective stride. A solid,
30-25 win in the event’s first game provided a sense of
promise for what lay ahead, as the Leafs had not lost a single
match all season after taking the first game.
That all changed Wednesday.
Goshen (2-14, 0-3) suffered perhaps its most disappointing loss
of the season, dropping a 30-25, 22-30, 12-30, 25-30 yucker to
the Cougars, keeping the team winless in MCC play and putting a
major damper on the squad’s conference home-opener. The Leafs’ strong
start was halted in part due to improved play from Spring Arbor,
but also to self-imposed errors that increased in frequency according
to head coach Jewel Lehman.
“In the first game our passing was average and Spring Arbor
struggled to get the ball up to their setter,” Lehman said. “We
were in this match and had the opportunity to keep the momentum
in the second game, but we let it slip away as our passing deteriorated
while theirs sharpened. I was most disappointed with the number
of balls that dropped to the floor because we did not communicate.
We are not yet willing to do what it takes to seal the match win.”
Lehman’s squad stayed point for point with Spring Arbor in
the second game until the Cougars began running shoots to their
outside hitters, causing the Leafs’ defense troubles. A combination
of five blocking errors and nine serve receive errors helped Spring
Arbor take the second game by a 30-22 score, and things got sharply
worse for Goshen in round three. The Cougars began to serve very
well, rattling off consecutive points without the Leafs having
a chance at offense.
“In the third game we got trapped in rotation four on serve
receive and couldn’t get the ball back,” Lehman said. “Spring
Arbor started running threes to the outside and we did not defend
them well. Our offense became too inconsistent and predictable
and our hitters struggled against their solid block.”
Incredibly, even after dropping the third set by a 30-12 count,
Goshen did not give up. A resurgent fourth game appeared to have
the Leafs setting the stage for a fifth and final stanza, but it
was not to be. After Spring Arbor rallied to tie the fourth game
score at 25-25, Lehman called a timeout. It didn’t work.
The Cougars rattled off the next five points to take the match.
“They finished the (fourth) game with three aces and a couple
of strong attacks,” Lehman said. “We had our chances.”
The usual combination of senior Anna Herdeck and sophomore Carly
Feldman paced the offense throughout the match for Goshen, tallying
15 and 16 kills, respectively. Herdeck finished with 12 digs and
no serve receive errors, while Feldman hit .170 with a team-high
17 digs. Junior Danielle Haney recorded a productive outing at
the net, totaling 11 kills with two assist blocks. Freshman walk-on
Betsy Freeman provided the best attacking percentage for the team
(.250), finishing with two kills and no attack errors.
Sophomore Jess Buller tallied out 37 assists off of 137 sets. She,
along with Herdeck and Feldman, had two service aces. Sophomore
Christina Leichty finished with 12 digs.
Goshen will return to the practice courts for nearly a week before
its next match, as the team will travel to MCC foe Taylor University
on Tuesday evening. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
|
  Junior
Danielle Haney
|
|
|
|
