(Box Score) Indianapolis, IN — A lengthy Halloween trip to Indianapolis turned out to be a bit more tricky than treat for the Goshen College women’s volleyball program, as the Leafs dropped a 23-30, 31-33, 28-30 Mid-Central Conference decision to host Marian College Wednesday night.
The final regular-season match of the season for Goshen (15-13, 2-6), the defeat carried significant weight in post-season implications for the Leafs, as Goshen finished as the eighth seed and will face top seed and 22nd-ranked Taylor University in the first round of the upcoming MCC Tournament.
A win over Marian would have propelled Goshen to sixth in the league standings, however, pitting the team against Huntington University in first-round, post-season competition.
That possibility was voided by a sub-par performance for much of Wednesday evening, as Goshen could really never get untracked offensively. Team attack percentages of .000, .118 and .146 led to just 40 kills overall, with no Leafs’ player hitting above a .194 mark.
That clip came courtesy of sophomore Brittany Herschberger, who equaled a team-best 11 kills to go with a team-high 16 digs. Freshman Peni Acayo also charted 11 kills — she hit at a .147 rate — posting four service aces as well.
Goshen was able to get close to Marian in the second and third games, but failed to win key points down the stretch in both stanzas. Sophomore Alli Hawkins was able to chart just 31 assists thanks largely to chasing down a multidue of errant passes, as the team posted a serve-receive rating of just 1.80.
Acayo and senior Stephanie Kennell each had eight digs on the evening to complement Herschberger’s total. Sophomore Ashley Janssen led the team’s defense at the net, charting three assist blocks.
Goshen will now have to travel to Taylor’s Don J. Odle Arena on Tuesday for the first round of the MCC Tournament, a venue in which the team has not won a single game at since the 2001 season. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
|
Sophomore Brittany Herschberger