(Box Score) Huntington, IN — It was a tale of two teams Friday night at Mid-Central Conference foe Huntington University, as the Goshen College women’s volleyball team dropped a 30-28, 30-20, 28-30, 28-30, 11-15 decision to the host Foresters in disappointing fashion.
The match — designated a non-conference event — looked to seemingly get Goshen (9-9, 1-3) a reasonable amount of revenge for a 27-30, 20-30, 24-30 loss to the Foresters at the Roman Gingerich Center on Sept. 18 (click here for related article). That was not to be, however, as it was Huntington that captured vital points late in Friday’s games three and four, pushing on to the win in a narrow game five decision.
“We are disappointed to have dropped this match after being up two games today,” said Jewel Lehman, Goshen head coach. “We outscored them in points but we have to learn to come through in the clutch situations.”
It appeared there would be no clutch situations to be had in the early goings, as Lehman’s team snuck out a win in the first stanza and then cruised to a 30-20 decision in game two. Goshen attacked at .300 and .235 clips in those games, coupled with only nine total hitting errors.
Huntington began to apply the pressure in games three and four, however, as the Leafs’ attack percentage dipped to .143 and .081. Lehman’s squad also committed a total 15 attack errors in those stanzas.
In the final game, the Foresters were able to ride both the overall momentum — and an early lead — to capture the narrow, 15-11 decision. Goshen hit at a .154 clip in the final segment, generating seven total kills to go with three attack errors.
Freshman Peni Acayo continued her run of recent dominance at the net, finishing with a match-high 26 kills on an incredible .370 attack percentage. Freshman Kelsey Herschberger provided nine kills while sophomores Brittany Herschberger and Ashley Janssen each tallied seven. The Herschbergers each scooped 14 digs to lead the team, while Brittany was a perfect 21 for 21 in serving, adding an ace.
Sophomore Alli Hawkins finished with all 48 of the team’s assists on the evening, while Kelsey Herschberger finished with a squad-best four assist blocks. Sophomore Gina Richard teamed with Janssen to come up with three assist blocks each.
“We are playing much stronger than we were at this time last year, and we are pleased about that,” Lehman said. “We still need to grow and learn how to take the overall win.”
Goshen will returned to sanctioned, MCC competition on Tuesday, when the Leafs will host league rival Grace College. Goshen is 5-1 on the season in matches played at the Roman Gingerich Center. Tuesday night’s event is slated for a 7 p.m. start time.
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Sophomore Brittany Herschberger