2009 Volleyball Review
January 4, 2010
LINKS: Roster | Results | Season News | Statistics
MEDIA: Photo Gallery | VIDEO: vs. Huntington | VIDEO: Senior Night
GOSHEN, Ind. – While almost every season has its ups and downs, this year’s Goshen College volleyball campaign was far from the typical.
The normal peaks and valleys of a season just do not go far enough to describe what the Maple Leafs did in 2009. Instead, words like obstacles, astonishment, roadblocks, record-breaking, and accomplishment all somehow seem to fit much better in the learning process of the program over the course of the year.
In this case, the story started before a volleyball was ever served. First-year head coach Jim Routhier took over the reigns of a largely returning roster that had begun to make some noise in the very strong Mid-Central College Conference. Despite having a veteran team, Routhier was shorthanded before the season started as sophomore middle hitter Katelyn Yoder suffered a season-ending knee injury during the summer.
Still expectations were high. As the season started in the Malone University Invitational, the Maple Leafs made their first big wave as they took down #25 Campbellsville University. Flying high from two-straight wins in the opening day of the event, the team had a far from typical night as the restaurant they went to for a post-game meal was struck by lightning.
A week later, they got a little bit of a surprise as conference foe Marian University beat them twice, including the championship game of the Earlham College Classic. While the Knights eventually went on to place second place in the MCC regular season, it provided a small sliver of doubt into Goshen’s mind about how well they would fare in the conference campaign.
Just days later, though, the doubt was erased as the Leafs dominated Huntington University in both teams’ conference opener.
At 6-4 on the young season, however, a major turning point in the season was just around the corner. After opening the Indiana Wesleyan Invitational with a win, Goshen lost senior setter Lindsay Nofziger to a broken finger. Shifting to a one-setter system, they went on to drop each of their final three matches in the tournament.
The troubles continued. While the Maple Leafs have historically not had success against Indiana Wesleyan, they had them on the ropes in their return trip to Marion just days after the tournament appearance. Instead of a historic win, Goshen dropped to 1-1 in conference play and lacked confidence as they moved forward.
Following an eleven-day layoff, the Leafs returned to the court and did not fare much better. They dropped matches to Manchester and Huntington – both squads they had swept earlier in the season.
With the season quickly slipping away at 7-10, Goshen’s season took another dramatic turn. A sweep of Grace put the Leafs back on track before an exciting and gritty five-set win at Davenport signaled their comeback. Goshen rolled off three more sweeps at home as they took down Marygrove, Saint Francis, and Bethel in straight sets.
The win over Bethel was the Leafs first since 2002, but it was a non-conference meeting.
Three days later, Goshen fell victim to the Pilots when it counted towards the MCC standings. A week after that, the Leafs again faced off against Marian University with major implications in the conference standings.
In another atypical night, the team bus broke down on the way to Indianapolis. Goshen arrived late to the match, but quickly recovered by winning the first two sets. In the latest of many twists, the Knights came roaring back with three-straight set wins to take the match in devastating fashion.
The Maple Leafs were back down, but they were not out. With third-place Spring Arbor heading into town for the regular-season home finale, Goshen sent its seniors out in style with a resounding 27-25, 25-21, 25-19 victory. The win completed a perfect 2009 regular season at the Roman Gingerich Recreation-Fitness Center with the Leafs not dropping a single set at home (21-0).
The up-and-down regular season had enough high points that Goshen earned the No. 3 seed for the MCC Tournament and with it their second ever home tournament match. As fate would have it, the Leafs were matched up against Bethel for the fourth time in 2009. Goshen defending their home court with a 3-1 win sending them to the semifinals for the second-straight year.
It was another familiar opponent for Goshen in the semifinal round as they traveled to Marian. With a 0-3 mark against the Knights on the season, the odds were against the Leafs. In one of the most epic matches in the entire conference schedule, Goshen came from a set down twice for a 23-25, 31-29, 22-25, 25-21, 17-15 victory. With the win, the Leafs advanced to the first MCC Championship in program history, eventually falling to Taylor University.
“This was an awesome group of young ladies that learned to believe in themselves and their abilities,” Routhier said. “Throughout the season, we worked on confidence and reaching our potential. In the end, the girls reached their goal of confidence and belief.”
While the team accomplishments always came first to this group, the individual accolades certainly followed. Junior Peni Acayo put together one of the most complete and outstanding seasons in program history as she totaled 554 kills, 57 blocks, and 437 digs. She was rewarded with MCC Player of the Year, AVCA Mid-Central Region POY, and NAIA First-Team All American honors, all program firsts.
Acayo would be the first to credit her teammates and they did not go unnoticed by conference coaches either. Fellow junior Kelsey Herschberger – in her first season as a libero – was named All MCC First Team after racking up 529 digs, more than her first two seasons combined. Senior Ashley Janssen was picked Second Team All MCC for the second-straight season after posting a career-high 282 kills, while senior setter Allison Hawkins was named MCC honorable mention.
“I am very proud of the girls for their hard work and constant positive attitude in working toward and achieving their goals,” Routhier concluded. “We set ‘Building Champions of Character’ as our program motto and this team has set the tone for the future.”
