(Box Score) Upland, IN — For Goshen head coach Jewel Lehman, Tuesday night’s Mid-Central Conference Tournament, 24-30, 20-30, 15-30 loss to number one seed and 22nd-ranked Taylor University had as much to do with October as anything else.
Citing vastly improved play against Taylor, Lehman thought about the league matches that narrowly got away, putting Goshen (15-14, 2-6) in the Trojans’ Don J. Odle Arena to begin with.
“We lost some very close conference matches this year that we believe we should have won,” Lehman said. “If we can take care of business in those matches, maybe we’re a (higher) seed and have a better chance (in the post-season).”
Matches against Grace College (click here for related article) and Huntington University (click here for article) immediately come to mind, as the Leafs dropped a pair of events to those MCC foes in five games each.
A win at Marian College a week ago to the date would have given Goshen the number six seed in MCC Tournament play.
Instead, Lehman’s team narrowly fell to the eighth slot, forcing the team to play the 22nd-rated Trojans, a team boasting a 30-9 record overall.
Not having won a game in Upland since the 2001 season, Lehman said she was pleased with her team’s competitive spirit for the majority of the evening on Wednesday, as Goshen made things close early.
“In this match it was evident that we are competing at a level higher than we did last year,” Lehman said. “Our athletes were up for the match and we worked very hard to get ahead in the first game and to play with Taylor up through the 22nd point. We were passing well and were able to terminate some attacks despite great defensive efforts on their part. A few missed serves and other mistakes after 22 rattled us a bit and allowed Taylor to score some critical points toward the end. I thought we shook them up a bit as they did not expect us to keep the score so tight. Taylor is ranked number one (in our conference) for a reason though. They held their composure and performed well under the pressure we applied. I thought this first game was a great effort on our part. There is no doubt that we can play with the top teams in the conference now.”
Goshen continued strong play in the second stanza, until a rotation freeze allowed the Trojans to go on a run midway through. After charting 14 kills on a .089 attack percentage in the first game, Goshen was held to 11 attacks for points on a .043 clip in the second.
“The second game we came out strong again and played right with them into the middle of this game, but we struggled to get out of two particular rotations that have haunted us this year and we shanked a few serves to give Taylor the edge. Once again, I felt that we played very respectably in this game but we couldn’t quite keep the pressure on down the stretch.”
Perhaps understanding the magnitude of the situation, Goshen faltered in the third game, generating more errors (seven) than attacks (five) for the team’s only negative attack percentage of the event (-.065).
“The third game began with some difficulty and we struggled throughout,” Lehman said. “We lost our focus and confidence a bit during this match. We were not able to string together as many strong plays and we became a little frustrated by this.”
Freshman Peni Acayo led the team with 10 kills on the night, hitting at a .185 rate against Taylor’s impressive front line. Freshman Kelsey Herschberger and sophomore Gina Richard each tallied six ills, while sophomore Brittany Herschberger finished with a team-best 12 digs.
Acayo accounted for four of the team’s five service aces on the night, while sophomore setter Alli Hawkins finished with 27 assists.
“Overall, I thought we played a much better match this time than the last time we saw them (click here for article), Lehman said. “Naturally we are all disappointed with the loss and with seeing our season come to an end.”
Positives do abound for the program, however, as Goshen’s 15 wins on the season equaled four more victories than in the past two years combined. The team finished with an impressive 6-2 record in the friendly confines of the Roman Gingerich Center, while Lehman departs just two seniors — Jess Buller and Stephanie Kennell — with just one junior on the roster as well. (Buller and Kennell finished their careers with seven digs apiece Wednesday.)
“We will miss Jess and Steph as they move on to bigger and better experiences,” Lehman said. “ While we are not completely satisfied with our overall record, we are pleased with the progress we’ve seen this season. We are playing much more competitively with this group of strong and talented athletes. It is exciting to see the growth of the players throughout the year. Many returning players on the team have indicated they are committed to working hard this winter and spring so we can continue to elevate our game to the next level. We have a significant amount of work to do in refining individual technique, implementing strategy, executing adjustments during the game and improving levels of strength and endurance. Some new ideas for conditioning and training will help us address some of the weaknesses that were exposed during the season.”
Lehman said that the team will take a brief hiatus before returning to the gym for winter conditioning. Check back to this site for the latest news and team information during the off-season, including recruiting signings and post-season awards. To contact Coach Lehman, call her at (574) 535-7658 or click here to send her an email.
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2007 Season News
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Senior Jess Buller 
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