SPRING ARBOR, Mich. — Hallie Vanitvelt finished with 16 kills, nearly doubling her season high, as the Goshen College women's volleyball team dispatched Spring Arbor University in four sets Friday night at the SAU Fieldhouse.

The host Cougars (5-22, 1-16) claimed the first set 25-21 before Goshen took the final three 25-21, 25-23 and 25-19, avoiding the memory of its five-set loss to SAU on the same court last September.

Spring Arbor took 9-2 and 13-5 leads in the opening set, never allowing the Maple Leafs (13-17, 7-10) to pull within three points until the set's penultimate rally. The Maple Leafs ripped off five points in a row for a 6-2 lead in the second, but when SAU closed to within 13-11 GC responded with a 4-1 run to extend its advantage back to five.

The third set was tied at 14, 16, 17 and 18 before two winners by Whitney Peterson and one from Lexa Magnuson gave GC a 21-19 edge it never relinquished, and a 7-1 spurt to pull the visitors ahead 20-14 in the fourth ended any hope for a Cougar comeback.

Rebekah Kujat matched Vanitvelt for the match high in kills while playing for the other team. Cougars also led all players with 45 assists (Annica Stotz) and 25 digs (Leah Rose). Lisa Rodriguez and Christy Swartzendruber paced Goshen with 30 and 21, respectively, in the same categories.

On the front lines, Goshen's Kylie Giger led all players with six blocks, one fewer than Spring Arbor's team output. Magnuson and Meghan Gerke each finished with four stops apiece and Goshen racked up 11 as a team.

Spring Arbor finished with the advantages in both kills (52-50) and errors (34-26); coupled with a difference of 18 swings on offense between the two teams, Goshen finished with a .142 hitting percentage to their hosts' .096.

The win clinched a spot in the eight-team conference tournament for GC, although the Maple Leafs were eliminated from contention for a top-four finish and a first-round home match when Marian won against Saint Francis. Goshen can still finish anywhere from fifth to eighth in the conference, meaning Jim Routhier's team could play at Indiana Wesleyan, Mount Vernon Nazarene, Taylor, Marian or Grace in the tournament's first round on Nov. 5.

The Maple Leafs are off Saturday before concluding their regular season Wednesday night against Indiana Wesleyan. First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside Gunden Gymnasium.