Mishawaka, IN — A surprisingly
strong start to the 2005 Mid-Central Conference season did not
last long for the Goshen College volleyball team Tuesday evening,
as the squad dropped a 30-15, 30-11, 30-11 decision to the Bethel
College Pilots in the Wiekamp Center.
Goshen (0-6, 0-1) came out strong in the match’s first game,
but couldn’t hold on for the duration. After going point
for point with the Pilots through the first 10 points, Bethel began
to click. A 20 to five Pilot run closed the door on any chance
of a Goshen upset, setting the tone for the remainder of the match
in the process.
“We came out strong and played solidly for the first 10 points,” said
Lauren Goehring, Goshen assistant coach. “After getting stuck
in a rotation against a very tough jump serve we allowed them to
pull ahead by a significant margin. Bethel is a good program and
played very well against us tonight. They passed very well and
out played us in every aspect. We will be working hard in practice
these next two days to prepare for our upcoming matches.”
Serve receive and attack errors were key in the loss for the Leafs,
as Goshen committed 19 mistakes in serve receive while putting
up a weedy -.174 attack percentage as a team. Senior Anna Herdeck
was the lone bright spot at the net offensively, brining six kills
on a .286 attacking percentage. Sophomore Carly Feldman provided
nine digs while making just one serve receive error in 19 attempts.
She also was six for six from the service line.
Goshen was again without starting sophomore outside hitter Stephanie
Kennell, who has yet to return to action after suffering a severe
ankle sprain in last weekend’s Tri-State Invitational.
“We missed the experience that Stephanie provides tonight,” Goehring
said. “Anna played well at the net, and Carly was solid in
the back row. We’ve got to continue to work in practice.
We can improve on our play in all areas.”
Goshen will take to the road again this weekend, as the team will
travel to the Defiance College Invitational Friday afternoon. The
Leafs will face Concordia University in the event’s initial
match at 5 p.m. The team will play a total four matches spanning
through Saturday afternoon. Kennell is listed as doubtful to play
in this weekend’s action.
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  Sophomore
Carly Feldman
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