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(GM3 Box Score) (GM4 Box Score) Dearborn, MI — With the program’s best tournament outing in the last three seasons, the Goshen College women’s volleyball team captured second place at this weekend’s six-team University of Michigan-Dearborn Collegiate Challenge, finishing 2-2 at the event behind solid play.
Goshen (8-7, 1-3) dropped its initial match to the hosts by a heartbreaking, 30-26, 22-30, 23-30, 30-16, 13-15 score before rattling off wins against both Concordia University and Siena Heights University en route to the championship match. And while the Leafs could not take out a talented Illinois Tech squad in the finals — Tech won the weekend’s final event by a 21-30, 22-30, 14-30 score — Goshen head coach Jewel Lehman said she was proud of how her team competed over the weekend.
“This tournament was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for us, and while we are disappointed not to win the championship match, we feel fairly good about a second-place finish with this young team,” Lehman said. “We played quite well, overall probably the best we’ve played yet this season.”
A tournament championship may have been the furthest thing from Lehman’s mind following Friday’s initial match with the host Wolves, as the Leafs dropped only their second match of the season to go the full five games. That match’s final stanza may have been the most difficult to swallow of the entire weekend for Goshen, as a 30-16 game four win could not pan out in the 13-15 game five defeat.
“Friday’s match against Michigan-Dearborn was a heartbreaking loss,” Lehman said. “We outscored them in total points, but they played great defense and had an incredible setter. We were up and down, pulling out the first game at the end, letting down a bit in the second and third games but then capitalizing well on their mistakes for a big win in the fourth. We were down a bit in the fifth game but came back to make it a match. They made a couple of nice plays at the end so they took it from us. Even though the scores were up and down a bit, I felt like we gave a fairly consistent effort up to the end.”
Freshman Peni Acayo again led Goshen’s offensive efforts in the match, charting a team-best 24 kills on a .286 attack percentage. Sophomore Brittany Herschberger and freshman Kelsey Herschberger (11 kills apiece) weren’t far behind, while senior Jess Buller led the team with 19 digs defensively. Sophomore setter Alli Hawkins tallied 48 assists.
Hawkins would shatter that number in Goshen’s late game on Friday, however, as the Leafs rolled to a 30-22, 34-36, 30-25, 30-23 win over Concorida. Hawkins had a career-high 56 assists in the win, as Goshen hit at a .215 rate, the team’s best effort of the season save for its .313 clip against Grace Bible College on Aug. 29 (click here for article).
“We followed up with a great four-game win against a tough Concordia team (following our Michigan-Dearborn loss),” Lehman said. “We were able to stay focused despite some long rallies and points. It would have been easy to have a letdown.”
Concordia captured its lone win in the second game thanks to a hot start, as the Cardinals secured a 7-1 lead before barely holding on to the 36-34 win. Key blocks in the third game and persistence in the final stanza allowed the Leafs to hold on for the win, as Kelsey Herschberger finished with three solo and one assist block.
“In the middle of the third game we had a couple of key blocks from (sophomore) Ashley (Janssen), Kelsey and (sophomore) Gina (Richards) which helped us push through the middle for the win,” Lehman said. “In both the third and the fourth games we fought very hard for points in long rallies for the win. Many times we had to attack four or five times in a rally since Concordia was also playing great defense.”
Acayo and Richards paced Goshen’s offense in the night cap, finishing with 25 and 15 kills, respectively. Richards hit at an incredible .448 attack percentage, while Acayo succeeded at a .254 rate. Brittany Herschberger scooped 21 balls for digs — sister Kelsey provided 17 — while the team notched 20 service aces, another season-best mark.
“(Senior) Stephanie Kennell was also outstanding in serve receive, charting a 2.38 efficiency out of a possible 3.0,” Lehman said.
A familiar opponent was waiting for Goshen Saturday morning following a late night Friday – the team returned to its hotel at midnight — as Siena Heights University took on the Leafs for the third time of the season at 10 a.m. After a 3-0 win over the Saints at the Judson University Invitational on Aug. 31 and a 3-1 win in the Goshen College Tri-Match on Sept. 14, Lehman’s team handed Siena Heights a 19-30, 30-27, 24-30, 30-25, 15-9 defeat Saturday morning.
Fortunately for Goshen, Siena Heights does not appear on the 2007 schedule again.
“Siena was playing much better than the last two times we played them,” Lehman said. “They were passing better than before and were playing so tough all the way around. Once again we found ourselves in long rallies, making four and five strong hits to earn the point.”
Goshen came through to post 133 total digs in the match — a team high on the year — and hit at .204 and .241 attack percentages in the fourth and fifth games, helping to secure the squad’s first five-game win of the year. Acayo was tops on the team with 25 kills on a .158 attacking clip, while Kelsey Herschberger finished with 16 attacks for points. Buller was extraordinary in the back, tallying a team-high 28 digs which was followed by Brittany Herschberger’s 22, Acayo’s 17 and Kennell’s and Richard’s 16 each.
Hawkins was again impressive running the show, charting 41 assists. Richard finished with five of the team’s 13 aces from the service line.
“We played our best in the fourth and fifth games, stepping up to the pressure for the win in five tight games,” Lehman said. “Brittany and Jess passed well on serve receive and (junior) Caitlin Helmuth did a great job coming in and passing in this match. Kelsey had three solo blocks and that was critical as well.”
After tournament officials erroneously notified Lehman and staff that the team would be playing in the third-place match at 12 noon, corrected tie-breaking procedures placed Goshen in the championship game against Illinois Tech. And while the Leafs were unable to push the Scarlet Hawks severely, Lehman said she was proud of her team’s effort.
“Three teams were tied after pool play, so we qualified for the championship match as a result of point differential with our opponents,” Lehman said. “It was exciting to be in the finals, and we suddenly realized we could win the tournament. I think that excitement affected us adversely early on, though, as at the beginning of the match we were overly excited. We struggled with passing in the first game and I think we were a little tense. Our attacking wasn’t as strong as the previous matches and we were slow on the block.”
Goshen hit at just a .111 attack percentage in its first game and at a .178 clip in the second before stumbling into the red — a -.100 clip — in the third and final stanza. Acayo was limited to 14 kills on an impressive .312 attack percentage, one of three Leafs to hit in positive numbers. Hawkins tallied 24 assists, while Kennell led the team with 12 digs.
“Illinois Tech has a sound team, but I really felt like we were an even match,” Lehman said. “Youth and the fatigue came over us and interfered with our efforts to beat Illinois Tech and we are disappointed about that.”
Acayo and Hawkins each earned all-tournament team honors during the weekend. The award was the second similar honor for Hawkins, who earned all-tournament team accolades at the Judson University Invitational on Aug. 31-Sept. 1 (click here for article).
The runner-up finish was the top tournament result for a Goshen team since the 2004 season, when the squad went 4-0 en route to winning the four-team Huntington (then) College Tournament.
“I am pleased with our progress because we are playing much better and we are much more consistent throughout matches,” Lehman said. “We made some great plays and this weekend was a wonderful team effort.”
Goshen will return to single match play on Tuesday, when the team will travel to Taylor University-Fort Wayne. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
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Freshman Peni Acayo