The Goshen College women’s volleyball team was outhit and outmatched by conference rival Bethel College 25-18, 21-25, 25-17, 25-15 in Friday evening action in the Gunden Gymnasium.

With a full crowd on hand, the Goshen women peaked in the second set but could not keep up with the hard-hitting Pilots (8-7, 1-2 CL) throughout the latter stages of the match.

Coming off of a decade-high hitting percentage of .458 Tuesday against Anderson University, the Maple Leafs (6-5, 0-2 CL) took a step backwards on the offensive end and finished the defeat with a meager .113 hitting mark. BC finished the evening with a .303 clip.

Action peaked for the Leafs in the second set as they raced out to a comfortable 13-7 lead midway through the frame.

That lead grew to 18-11 before two GC service errors sparked a late comeback attempt by the Pilots.

Bethel rattled off five unanswered points but remained cliché with too little too late.

The third set brought with it back and forth action with the score nearly knotted at 11-10 in Bethel’s favor, but the Leafs would get no closer.

With frustration kicking in for a sputtering GC offense, the final frame solidified a strong night for the Bethel women.

Sophomore Darienne Maust led the Leaf offense with 12 of the team’s 39 kills. Goshen attempted more attacks than the visiting Pilots with 133 to Bethel’s 130, but doubled their number of errors with 24. The error total was Goshen’s second-highest of the season, one shy of a four-set win over William Penn on Aug. 19.

“Usually if someone has an off night, someone else is there to pull the team through, and we didn’t have that tonight,” Jim Routhier, GC Volleyball head coach, said.

“We just didn’t have our game together and this conference is tough from top to bottom. We’ll bounce back tomorrow and be ready to get back into league play with Saint Francis next week.”

Ally Roehr, a sophomore, and first-year Shelbey Younts chipped in a team-high 18 assists apiece.

Despite the rough night on the offensive end, the Maple Leaf defense posted 61 digs to Bethel’s 65, but only registered one team block by Meghan Gerke, a senior, and sophomore Lindsay McQuinn. Senior Christy Swartzendruber led the team defensive effort with 18 digs.

Following a win over Indiana University- South Bend, a loss to Sienna Heights University this past Saturday, and a home match against the University of Saint Francis Wednesday night, the women will hit the road to take on Marian University this coming Friday. The first serve is set for 7 p.m.