Goshen, IN — Rewinding back
to early September, this was nowhere close.
A raucous Roman Gingerich Center witnessed the Goshen College women’s
volleyball team fight to the very end with Mid-Central Conference
foe Bethel College Tuesday night, eventually dropping a heated,
25-30, 27-30, 18-30 decision on senior night. The level of play — most
noticeably in the first two games — was that of upper-echelon
college volleyball, a vast improvement from some early-season experiences
according to Leafs’ head coach Jewel Lehman.
As a result, Goshen honored its two seniors — Maria Rakochy
and Danielle Haney — with perhaps its finest effort of the
season. That coincided with the best home crowd of the year (many
of whom wore Halloween costumes) in the program’s final home
match of 2006.
“This was a really fun evening to honor our seniors,” said
Lehman, who began the evening with a pre-match ceremony for both
Rakochy and Haney. “Danielle and Maria had a lot of fans
here tonight, and the building was loud and full of energy. We
played fairly well in the beginning and it is exciting to be playing
with these types of teams now. It is just going to lead us into
our season next year. Success, in the form of wins, is just around
the corner.”
Goshen (5-22, 0-8) will return virtually everyone from its youthful
squad save for Rakochy and Haney, whose career paths in the Leafs’ volleyball
program were anything but conventional. Haney joined the squad
last season to add to her women’s basketball responsibilities,
while Rakochy was a walk-on member of the 2003 Goshen volleyball
team before taking two years away from the sport and returning
this season. The tandem’s efforts this season both took additional,
unforeseen turns, as Haney injured ligaments in her knee on Sept.
15 and has not played since. Rakochy, meanwhile, was forced to
step into the staring line-up as a result of Haney’s injury,
and has played in every game since.
“Both Danielle and Maria have meant so much to our program,” Lehman
told the Roman Gingerich Center crowd on the public address system
prior to the match. “We wish we could have both for another
season or two, but both will graduate this spring. Danielle is
such a great athlete to work with and she adjusted to the college
game quickly. She has attended and assisted us with practice in
addition to rehabbing her knee every day. This attests to her work
ethic, dedication to the team and to her character. We already
miss her talent on the court and we will miss her in multiple ways
next year.
“Maria has done an incredible job stepping into the starting
line-up with little previous experience at the college level,” Lehman
continued. “As with Danielle, we wish we could talk Maria
into staying another year or two but we understand that her academic
program is completed as well. Maria’s quiet determination
and wonderful sense of humor made us a stronger team and contributed
to the fun and laughter this year. We will miss you so much.”
Following comments from juniors Jess Buller and Stephanie Kennell,
it was obvious that Goshen was ready to play, as the team shot
out to an early lead over Bethel in the match’s first contest.
The Pilots’ strong front line was able to regather, however,
and Goshen could not respond from a 26-24 deficit down the stretch.
The night’s second stanza was more of the same, as the Leafs’ crowd
urged on the team incessantly. A mid-game five to nothing Goshen
run put the Leafs ahead 25-23, but Bethel again responded, claiming
seven of the last nine points scored to spoil the potential Goshen
win.
Perhaps deflated by its near misses, Goshen struggled in the third
and final match, hitting a paltry -.191 and falling by an 18-30
count.
“We couldn’t generate the energy that we had in the
first two games into the third,” Lehman said. “We had
our opportunities in those first two games, but Bethel made some
plays
and we made some mistakes. In games as tight as those, you’ve
got to be very good in execution to have a shot.”
Buller led the attack for Goshen on the night, charting a team-high
11 kills to go with a team-best 14 digs. Freshman Ashley Janssen
charted eight kills to go with nine digs, while classmate Gina
Richard knocked in four kills to go with nine digs as well. Richard
hit at a team-best .214 attack percentage, while the team registered
its best collective mark in game one, hitting .149.
Freshman Allison Hawkins collected 22 assists from the setter position,
while Rakochy finished with two kills and three digs in her final
match in a home uniform. Kennell provided two solo blocks, the
team’s only blocks on the night.
“Our young players have come a long way this year and I am
so proud of them,” Lehman said. “Everyone has worked
so hard. We look forward to having the opportunity to play again
tomorrow.”
Goshen will travel to Manchester College Wednesday evening to finish
its 2006 campaign. With the team’s loss against Bethel, it
was mathematically eliminated for contention in the eight-team,
Mid-Central Conference Tournament, finishing as the league’s
ninth seed. The Leafs’ match against Manchester is set for
a 7 p.m. start Wednesday evening.
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  Senior
Maria Rakochy
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