(GM 1 Box Score) (GM 2 Box Score) (GM 3 Box Score)
Whiting, IN — Taking a weekend getaway — if you will — from Mid-Central Conference competition, the Goshen College women’s volleyball team made easy work of Saturday’s four-team Calumet College Crimson Wave Invitational, cruising to wins over Calumet, Dominican University and Urbana University in the day-long event.
Goshen (15-12, 2-5) dropped just a single game on the day, sandwiching a pair of sweeps around a 3-1 win over Dominican in the middle. The Leafs opened play with a 30-22, 30-28, 30-18 win over Calumet and closed the event with a 30-28, 30-28, 30-21 win over Urbana. Only a 33-31, 30-18, 19-30, 30-21 decision over Dominican offered a slight blemish, as the Leafs will now return their collective focus to the MCC for the remainder of the year.
“Overall this was a very good day for us,” said Jewel Lehman, Goshen head coach. “We are progressing as a team and beginning to play a bit more consistently. We see areas for improvement, but we are performing much better than last year and that is wonderful. We are excited to have a winning record and we look forward to the opportunity to continue this seasons’ success. We have a chance to do some good things in the final few weeks of the season.”
Lehman’s team did plenty of good things Saturday in its breeze past the Crimson Wave, as several regulars took the match off. Junior Caitlin Helmuth provided a spark to the team, collecting a team-best 13 digs while providing two service aces in the win. Senior Jess Buller returned to the outside hitter position — a staple during her first three years in uniform — to lead the team with 11 kills, while sophomore Ashley Janssen and freshman Peni Acayo recorded seven and six, respectively.
Janssen led the team with a pair of assist blocks, while sophomore Lindsey Nofziger handled the setting duties, spelling classmate Alli Hawkins en route to 23 assists. Nofziger also attacked at a team-best .500 clip, dumping four of eight attempts over the net for points.
“From the scouting report we knew that Calumet was going to be a bit weaker than some of the teams we’ve been playing this year,” Lehman said. “We were pleased to have this match to give everyone a chance to play and to rest some during this big day. Lindsey did a good job running the offense and she even had a solo block! Caitlin did a great job as libero for us, passing a 1.64 (efficiency rating) and digging a team match high of 13 balls. (Freshman) Alicia played on the right side all the way around and did a fairly solid job although she has had better attacking stats in other matches. We are getting stronger as a team gradually, as everyone improves. We did a great job of running a faster offense against this team who uses mostly outside sets. Against a team like this it is easy to get lulled into the rhythm of a slow game and so we worked on playing the GC game on our side of the net regardless.”
With Calumet disposed of easily, Lehman’s team turned is attention to arguably the third-best team at the invitational in Dominican, as the Stars posted height and strength up front.
Despite another adjustment to its lineup, Goshen was able to sneak past Dominican in extra points in the first game before controlling the second stanza in a 30-18 win. With the aforementioned game three letdown contained to just a hiccup, the Leafs cruised in the fourth and final frame, posting a match-best .241 attack percentage in the 30-21 win.
“Dominican was a bit stronger and they had some height so our attackers had to attend to this at the net,” Lehman said. “We had a different line-up in and it took us a bit to get our feet moving. We were lucky to pull out the first game but it was an important win to set the tone. The second game we came out a little more focused. We were not ready to win in three I suppose as our performance dipped in the third game and a few inconsistent calls by the match staff made for a large margin loss. I burned my time outs early and made multiple substitutions to try to shift the momentum to no avail. The fourth game we regained our focus and picked it back up again, sharpening our pass accuracy and hitting around the block better as evidenced by the .241 attack percentage.”
Acayo led the way in the match with 14 kills and an incredible 10 service aces, posting 17 digs as well. Sophomore Brittany Herschberger provided 11 kills, while Janssen (nine) and freshman Gina Richard (eight) also joined in the offensive attack. Hawkins was responsible for 44 of the team’s 46 assists, while freshman Kelsey Herschberger tallied 12 digs.
“We passed better and Peni kept us in it with her amazing aces and kills,” Lehman said. “She came through for us in the clutch in this match. Overall, we passed well in this match and served a little better but not adequate yet in my view. Once again we had one more ace than error and so this helped to offset the lower (serving) percentage.”
With a invite sweep clearly on its mind, Goshen finished the deal with an impressive 3-0 win over Urbana to close the afternoon. Acayo was again outstanding at the net — team-best 21 kills on a .432 attack percentage — while Richard and Janssen each posted nine kills, the former coming at a .571 rate.
Hawkins provided 45 assists to lead the team, while Brittany Herschberger scooped 13 digs.
“The intensity escalated through the day as this was the strongest opponent of the day,” Lehman said of Urbana. “The games were close, but I am pleased to see that we are pushing through to secure the last two points. We are getting more accustomed to the pressure of close games at the end and we came through. Peni and Gina each had great matches attacking, and much of their success was due to Alli’s setting and the accurate passes. It was Jess Buller’s turn to excel in serve receive, passing a 2.29 rating. This, along with average performances by others contributed to the 1.92 team rating which is solid. We served 91 percent as a team but did not have as many aces. We became more successful at the net as the match wore on and this allowed us to win by a larger margin which keep my heart rate and blood pressure in more healthful ranges.”
A round-robin event, no all-tournament awards were given following Saturday's contests. A complete look at composite team results at the invitational is available by clicking here.
Goshen will next travel to Indianapolis for a league match with Marian College on Wednesday, an event with palpable post-season implications. A Leafs’ win would propel Goshen to the sixth seed heading into the MCC’s post-season tournament, while a loss would drop the team all the way to the eighth seed.
“We’re looking forward to our match-up with Marian on Wednesday,” Lehman said. “The conference tournament is coming up next week and we look forward to the opportunity to continue this season’s success. We believe we have a shot at getting past the first round this year. If everyone were to peak the first week of November, the possibility of getting to the championship match is out there too. We’re trying to think big.”
Wednesday’s match at Marian is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
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Junior Caitlin Helmuth