Goshen, IN — Opening its home
slate and the Mid-Central Conference schedule earlier than ever
before, the Goshen College women’s volleyball team looked
the part Wednesday night at the Roman Gingerich Center, dropping
a 19-30, 15-30, 25-30 decision to league foe Marian College.
Goshen (0-5, 0-1) committed 11 service-receive errors and six
blocking mistakes at the net, causing head coach Jewel Lehman
to head back to the drawing board during the Leafs’ upcoming
idle weekend.
“We were tense as a team tonight, especially in the beginning
and it showed during service receive,” Lehman said. “The
errant passes made it difficult to establish the offense we have
been working on.”
That lack of offense put the Leafs in a hole early against Marian,
as the programs were meeting for the ninth time in just the last
three seasons. Marian shot out to an early 12-3 lead in the first
game of the night and never looked back, torching the Leafs for
15 service aces on the night.
Goshen was able to come up with 26 digs on the night — junior
Steph Kennell and sophomore Caitlin Helmuth led that category with
six apiece — and had success when the team was able to force
side outs. Lehman’s team served with 92 percent accuracy,
making just five service errors on the match.
Unfortunately, a meager .119 attack percentage and total 22 kills
was simply not enough offense to keep possession of the ball for
any extended stretch.
“This is a young group and they are working very hard,” Lehman
said following the match. “We need to keep working on passing
and communication and become a bit tougher mentally.”
Freshman Alli Hawkins led the team with 16 assists. Kennell was
the leader in kills — she had six — while freshman
Gina Richard placed five attacks for points. Classmate Ashley Janssen
provided four kills, but led the team in attack percentage with
a .250 clip.
Wednesday’s match equaled the earliest calendrical meeting
between MCC opponents in Goshen program history. The Leafs faced
Bethel College last season on the same date (click here for recap),
the only other time in program history Goshen opened league play
so early in the year.
Goshen will take a full week to prepare for its next match — another
MCC duel — at Spring Arbor University. The Leafs will make
the trip north next Wednesday, with game time set for 7 p.m.
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  Junior
Stephanie Kennell
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