Goshen Volleyball earned a conference win last Saturday after a hard-fought battle against Grace College. The Leafs won on their home court in four sets (25-21, 24-26, 25-17, 25-19).
The home team took the lead against Grace at 8-7 in the first set and never looked back. The Leafs stayed ahead as Whitney Peterson, a first-year, racked up four kills in set one alone.Numerous unforced errors by Goshen provided Grace with the momentum they needed in game two, with a two-point victory in the second set leaving both teams hungry for a win.
Goshen’s well-balanced attack and stellar defense allowed them to keep Grace under 20 points in the last two sets of the evening as Lisa Rodriguez, a sophomore, controlled the Leaf’s offense, contributing 21 assists during the match.
Junior Lexa Magnuson led the team in blocking, which greatly contributed to Grace’s negative hitting percentages in the last two sets. Magnuson earned two solo blocks and two block assists during the match, and had no blocking errors.
“Volleyball has a long season, but we have just started conference play. Grace was a huge win and a breakthrough. Other than one set, the team played together consistently, and each person contributed to the win,” she said.
Goshen’s win against Grace marked their second conference win of the season, bumping them up to sixth place in the conference rankings. Saturday’s game was only the Leaf’s third match out of twelve that will take place on their home court. In the coming weeks, the Leafs look forward to a series of home games.
Goshen Volleyball has an entire week without matches before they take on Indiana Wesleyan. This conference match will take place in Goshen’s Gunden Gymnasium at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 23.
