NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – When a team plays four matches in two days against multiple opponents, they often struggle to play consistently at the highest level possible.
Such was the case for the Goshen College volleyball team as they went 2-2 at the Manchester College Tournament over the weekend.
After opening the tournament with an easy three-set win over Calumet College, the Maple Leafs went on to lose a pair of heart-breaking five-set contests against Alma College and Huntington University. The Maple Leafs rebounded Saturday afternoon with another straight-set win over host, Manchester College.
Sophomore Peni Acayo continued her early assault, pounded out 53 kills in just three matches played while being named to the all tournament team.
vs. Calumet College: 25-23, 25-18, 25-17 Win
The Leafs got off to a great start as they swept through Calumet College led by junior Brittany Herschberger's 10 kills.
"Calumet was a great mach for us to mix up the lineup a little and see what we could do," said head coach Jewel Lehman. "We got great contributions from Cassie Greives and Alicia Swartzentruber in this match."
Greives had seven blocks, five kills, and two aces, while Swartzentruber helped on the defensive side of the ball with seven digs.
vs. Alma College: 16-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 13-15 Loss
Friday night became a heart-breaker for Goshen after dropping a long five-set match to Alma College. After trading the first four sets, Goshen came just two points short in the final game to move to 1-1 in the tournament.
"The loss to Alma was really a heartbreaker," said Lehman. "We worked very hard and were playing quite well. The match was a battle with both teams playing very good back row defense as indicated in the 74 digs we tallied that match."
The Maple Leafs had four players with double-digit digs, led by Acayo, who tallied 17. Brittany Herschberger retrieved 14, while Lindsey Nofziger posted 13 and Katelyn Yoder finished with 10.
Acayo led Goshen with an incredible 24 kills, while Herschberger contributed 12 and Yoder pounded down 10.
vs. Huntington University: 25-15, 25-20, 16-25, 23-25, 10-15 Loss
Less than a week after dispatching Huntington in five sets on the road, the Forresters got their revenge on the Maple Leafs with a five-set victory of their own.
"We started out strong and as we've done the last several times we played them, we won the first two sets," explained Lehman. "We completely blew the third one and despite changes to strategies, we watched the fourth and fifth sets slip through our fingers."
Acayo once again led the Leafs in kills with 16, while the Herschberger sisters each tallied 10 or more digs. Acayo added 10 total blocks.
vs. Manchester College: 25-21, 25-20, 25-22 Win
After a pair of heart-breaking losses, Goshen was able to rebound with a straight-set win over host Manchester College.
"It was a great win and helped pick us up after a disappointing loss in the morning," added Lehman. "The only statistical part of our game suffering right now is serving. This is perhaps a mental challenge with some players right now."
The Maple Leafs had 10 service errors in the match, but got 16 kills from junior Ashley Janssen. Peni Acayo tallied 13 kills and Brittany Herschberger added 10. Allison Hawkins had a great all-around match with 40 assists and 14 digs.
The Maple Leafs will return to Mid-Central College Conference play when they host Indiana Wesleyan University on Tuesday.
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