women’s volleyball
November 1, 2012
Maple Leafs fall to Aquinas
The Goshen College Women’s Volleyball team fought hard, but ultimately came up short against non-conference opponent Aquinas College, as the Maple Leafs fell to the Saints in four sets, 25-23, 25-19, 15-25, 25-21. The Saints came out strong, winning the first two sets against the Maple Leafs, with the Leafs fighting them point for point. However it was in the third set that the Maple Leafs hit their stride. The Leafs showed life and determination, winning the third set, however the Saints proved too strong and won the match in the fourth set. The top hitters for the Maple Leafs...
September 27, 2012
League split for volleyball
The Maple Leafs volleyball team reached the halfway point of the Crossroads League season this weekend with a five-set loss to Bethel and a four-set win at Saint Francis. In the match against the Pilots, Hannah Grieser, a senior, had 14 kills and Jaime Stack, a sophomore, had 13. The Maple Leafs, took a two-set lead before falling. Stack was one of six Maple Leafs with at least eight digs. Emily Waits, a junior, blocked nine attacks. After dropping the first set to Saint Francis 26-24, the Maple Leafs won the next three sets by margins of no larger than...
September 12, 2012
Volleyball, young and experienced, bounces back
At first glance, the Goshen volleyball team has a young roster. Last season, the Maple Leafs made a habit of using first-years: four of them appeared in at least 90 percent of the matches for a 17-15 squad. This season, those players are sophomores. While having only one year of varsity experience is not ideal, head coach Jim Routhier believes that playing time will benefit Goshen down the road and in 2012: his team may have a handful of players that are only in their second season, but their experience is far greater than the average sophomore. That experience was...
November 9, 2011
Women’s volleyball season ends in conference quarterfinals
The 2011 season for the women’s volleyball team came to a close on Tuesday with a loss against No. 15 ranked Indiana Wesleyan University. The Leafs could not stop the Wildcats’ 13 game winning streak and were defeated 25-23, 25-13 and 25-21. “Tuesday night was a tough match,” said Hannah Greiser, a junior. “We played hard and fought until the last point of the third game, but there seemed to be a connection missing between our team as a whole. We stayed with them in the first and third games and had some great plays throughout. IWU has a really...
October 11, 2011
Maple Leafs defeat Marian Knights in three sets
The Goshen College women’s volleyball team was all smiles on Saturday afternoon after a home game win over the Marian Knights in three sets (25-23, 25-20, 25-20). After losing to Marian last Friday in Indianapolis, the match on Saturday came as a welcome boost to team morale. “This is possibly the biggest win of the season,” said Jim Routhier, the Leafs’ head coach. “Today the girls saw what they can be all the time.” The Knights certainly didn’t give up the game without a fight. The three sets were all competitive, decided by five points or less. In the second...
September 7, 2011
Leafs lose to Trojans in First Mid-Central College Conference
Goshen College hosted Taylor University last night in their first conference match up of the 2011 season. Before the game, Goshen had a perfect record at home with 3-1 versus Taylor’s 4-2. The number 15 ranked Taylor played a tough match finding many openings in the court, allowing them to take home a 3-0 victory. During the first match, the Leafs held on while the Trojans neared game point. The Leafs scored four additional points to hold Taylor at 24, but lost 20-25. In the second match, the Leafs held a lead above the Trojans but little mistakes allowed the...
November 10, 2010
Grace Ends Goshen’s Season in Quarterfinals
Goshen’s volleyball season officially came to an end Tuesday night with a 3-0 loss to Grace College. The loss came in the opening round of the MCC tournament ending a streak that saw the Leafs reach at least the semi-final round the past two seasons. Coming into the contest, both teams had a win against the other during the regular season. In both matches it was the home team that won. Unfortunately for the Leafs, this would hold true a third time. Game one saw the Lancers take three quick points for a 3-0 lead and never look back. Grace...
October 27, 2010
Leafs down Bethel Pilots on senior night
It came down to the wire, but the Goshen women’s volleyball team came away with a 3-2 victory over Bethel College in last Friday’s match. The win avenged an earlier season loss to the Pilots and marked the final regular season home match for the Leafs while also giving seniors Peni Acayo, Brittany Herschbeger, and Alicia Schwartzentruber one final win on their home court. The first game saw Goshen jump out to an early lead, but Bethel was able to fight back it tie it 12-12. The two teams traded points until Bethel pulled away with a 20-17 lead. Goshen...
October 14, 2010
Weekend losses bring volleyball women back to .500
The Leafs volleyball team played two games last weekend, traveling to #9 Taylor University on Friday and Grace College on Saturday. Goshen had already played Taylor at home, who was ranked #10 at the time. A thrilling game lasting five sets, the Leafs “played so well … it was the best we had played up to that point,” said Hannah Grieser a sophomore outside hitter. It was a different story at now 9th ranked Taylor, during their homecoming weekend. Goshen played well in the first game, hitting .293. “We gave them a match and stuck with them,” said Grieser. Taylor...
October 6, 2010
Back and Forth Contest Falls Leaf’s Way
Visitors to the Goshen Recreation Fitness Center Tuesday night witnessed a hard-fought win for the Goshen College volleyball team against Mid-Central Conference foe Grace College. The match was a hotly contested affair which saw both sides struggle to pull away with two of the sets being decided by a mere two points. In the end, Goshen was able to pull away with a 28-26, 25-18, 15-25, 25-23 victory. In the first game, Grace was able to open up an early 9-4 lead behind their two leading hitters Enrica Verrett and Dana Johnston. Despite the lead, Goshen didn’t lose faith...
September 15, 2010
Volleyball defeats Saint Francis, improves conference record
The women’s volleyball team defeated Saint Francis in a conference match last Saturday in three games, 25-23, 25-12 and 25-22. The victory continues a three year winning streak against Saint Francis, and brings the Leafs to a 2-1 record in conference play. The two teams were evenly matched during the first game, which contained a number of long rallies and resulted in a 22-22 tie before the Leafs pulled ahead by two to secure the game. The Leafs took a commanding lead in the second game, leading the entire game and pulling ahead 22-9 before the game concluded with...
November 19, 2009
Acayo Breaks Record in Championship Loss
Following an epic five-set win over Marian University in the MCC Conference Semifinal last Thursday, the Goshen volleyball team looked to cap off their historic run to the team’s first MCC championship match appearance with an upset of NAIA #16 Taylor University. Unfortunately, Saturday’s match at Taylor did not go well for Goshen as they fell in straight sets to the Trojans. “We had a hard time at the net blocking their hitters. I will also say that they were 2-5 inches taller across the front,” said head coach Jim Routhier. “I think the team played very hard and with...
November 11, 2009
Volleyball Heads to Semifinals
The regular season wrapped up last Wednesday evening for the Goshen Volleyball team where they were unable to pull off the upset against #16 ranked Taylor University, falling in four sets. First-year head coach Jim Routhier thinks the team will take pleasure from some smaller victories. The Leafs were able to win one set during the match. Taylor dropped just five sets during all of conference play this season, going undefeated. “There is a reason they are ranked No. 16 in the country,” he said. “They are very big and talented. We played very well at times, but you have...
September 30, 2009
Volleyball Dominates Grace
Entering Tuesday’s match against Grace College, the Goshen College volleyball team had been struggling to find a win. In fact, the Maple Leafs had lost their six previous matches after losing multiple players to injuries. However, the Maple Leafs finally got everything to click on Tuesday evening at home against the Lancers. The Maple Leafs took 8 of 11 points after being down 16-15 to win the first set 25-21. The Lancers never got closer than that the rest of the evening as Goshen took control and easily won the final two sets 25-20 and 25-20. “It was a big...