(Box Score) Goshen, IN — A slow start couldn’t deter the Goshen College women’s volleyball squad at the Roman Gingerich Center Wednesday night, as the Leafs rattled off three consecutive games to hand visiting Manchester College a 28-30, 30-14, 30-26, 33-21 defeat.
The win came less than 24 hours following a disappointing loss to Taylor University-Fort Wayne on the road (click here for related article), as Goshen (9-8, 1-3) pushed its home record to 4-1 on the year.
“We started slowly tonight, and as a team we are in the process of evaluating our warm-up routine and game preparation,” said Jewel Lehman, Goshen head coach. “We are pleased to have this win but we also see that we need to be more consistent throughout and play to our level, not the opponents’.”
Following a game one loss, Lehman’s squad turned out one of its most impressive stanzas of the season, hitting at a .457 attack percentage en route to a blowout, 30-14 win in game two. Games three and four were nowhere near as dominant — Goshen attacked at a .132 and .235 success rate in each — but was able to come back from a 25-29 deficit in the fourth, rattling off eight of the game’s final 10 points to seal a dramatic win.
“That (deficit) was a tough position to be in, especially with rally scoring like it is now,” Lehman said. “We were able to play pretty much error free down the stretch to win the match. This is an accomplishment and I was proud of the players for staying tough and picking up the intensity at the end.”
Lehman said she was also proud of the play of freshman outside hitter Peni Acayo, who collected a career-high 30 kills on a sick .411 attack percentage on the night. Acayo provided nine digs as well, while sophomore Brittany Herschberger and freshman Kelsey Herschberger each had 12 kills. Sophomore Ashley Janssen had 10 attacks for points.
Goshen hit at a collective .256 attack percentage on the evening, the squad’s second highest mark behind its .313 clip against an overpowered Grace Bible College team on Aug. 29 (click here for article).
“Peni was awesome tonight, no question,” Lehman said. “While our attack percentage was pretty good, two of our seasoned players struggled to pass.”
Brittany Herschberger finished with a team-leading 23 digs — sister Kelsey scooped 14 and sophomore Gina Richard 16 — while sophomore Alli Hawkins provided 64 assists from her setter position.
Richard also finished with a career-high three solo and three assist blocks, ending the match on a solo block to close out game four in dramatic fashion.
“Manchester struggled a lot in the second game making it easier for us to take control,” Lehman said. “Brittany had a great string of serves to put us on top and as a team we hit .457. I knew that this strong Manchester team would pull it together. Even though we won the second game by a significant margin, I knew we could not afford to let down. In game three Manchester began to pass better, but so did we. While we didn’t hit as well and we missed serves at inopportune times, we were able to finish the game ahead in the end. The fourth game was a battle and we made our share of mistakes. I felt like we should have come out stronger from the gate. We need to come out on fire when we are ahead like this to seal the match in the fourth game.”
Goshen will next travel to Mid-Central Conference foe Huntington University for a designated non-conference match on Friday. The Leafs dropped their league match with Huntington on Sept. 18, the team’s only home loss to date (click here for article). Event time for Friday’s rematch is set for 4 p.m.
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Freshman Peni Acayo