SPRING ARBOR, Mich., and GOSHEN, Ind. — Neither the road nor the home cooking were kind to the Goshen College volleyball team over the weekend: the Maple Leafs lost in five sets at Spring Arbor University on Friday night before losing in three sets to Taylor University on Saturday in a pair of Crossroads League matches.

Lexa Magnuson and Hallie Vanitvelt led Goshen with 16 kills apiece on Friday as Vanitvelt posted a .343 hitting percentage. After losing the first set 25-19, Goshen won the next two (25-13, 25-14) while holding the host Cougars to negative hitting percentages. The Maple Leafs led the fourth set 13-8 and were 12 points from the match, but SAU won 10 of the next 12 points and then four of the final six to win the set 27-25.

Each team's hitters had a field day in the deciding stanza, with 18 of the 30 points ending in kills and two more coming from service aces. Spring Arbor had two more kills, however, and the final score's 16-14 margin reflected that exactly.

Lisa Rodriguez led the Maple Leafs with 22 assists: her 14 digs tied for second on the team as Danielle Plank led Goshen with 19. All told, five GC players accumulated double-figure digs.

Saturday afternoon, Taylor earned its fifth straight win over Goshen in straight sets. The Trojans hit .274 for the match, including .200 or better in all three sets, and earned 45 of their 75 points on kills in a 25-19, 25-14, 25-18 win.

In addition to the kills, Taylor had a pair of aces and ended eight points with blocks. Jessi Arbuckle and Casey Allen each had 12 spike winners, followed by Becca Gerig with 11: Natalie Hubby paced Goshen with six in that category.

Again, Rodriguez finished with a team-high 14 assists: Angela Dedering and Ciana Bonfiglio racked up nine digs each, while Magnuson and Vanitvelt both had two solo blocks.

Goshen falls to 8-7 on the season, with all seven losses coming in conference play. Saturday marked the midpoint of the Crossroads League schedule, with all 10 schools having met once; the Maple Leafs finished the first half 2-7 in the league. Goshen hosts Huntington at 8 p.m. Wednesday night before taking a two-game trip to Mount Vernon Nazarene and Bluffton next weekend.

More, including comments from Goshen coach Jim Routhier, to come when available.