GOSHEN, Ind. — A quintet of Goshen College Maple Leafs posted five kills or more Friday night as the Maple Leafs swept Bethel 25-20, 25-22, 25-20 in Crossroads League play at Gunden Gymnasium.

Christy Swartzendruber and Lindsay McQuinn led all players with seven kills, Kylie Giger and Lexa Magnuson added six each, and Darienne Maust racked up five. The visiting Pilots countered with seven winners from Kassandra Williams and six by Zoe Wolfenbarger, but a stifling Goshen defense and a stingy net cord pushed the Pilots (7-10, 3-3) into as many attack errors as kills.

After an opening set that was tied 10 times, the hosts (8-5, 3-2) jumped out to a 9-2 second-set lead before Bethel used an 8-2 run to level the score at 20-all. Maust and Swartzendruber pounded winners, combined with a pair of Pilot errors, as the Maple Leafs used a 5-2 spurt of their own to win the set.

Goshen got the first big run of the third stanza, a four-point stretch on Danielle Plank's serve that turned an 8-6 deficit into a 10-8 edge. The Pliots never fell farther behind than four points and, in fact, pulled back to within one at 18-17. But after a GC timeout, the Leafs won seven of the last nine points to claim the match.

Goshen finished with 38 kills to Bethel's 27 while also tallying six fewer attack errors. Each team finished with eight blocks: Giger and Bethel's Kassandra Williams each led their teams with a solo stuff and four assists. On both sides, the single setter, as expected, got most of the assist action: Payton Anderson of Bethel was credited with 23 sets, while GC's Ally Roehr racked up 29.

Swartzendruber led all players with 15 digs, followed by the two liberos: Erin Carlos of Bethel (12) and Plank (11). No player had more than one ace.

The win, coupled with a Marian loss at Taylor, moved the Maple Leafs into sole possession of fourth place in the Crossroads League. While the conference season is less than one-third complete on the whole, Goshen remains undefeated at home: last season, the top four finishers won 82 percent of their home matches while the bottom six teams won 48 percent.

Goshen is idle this weekend until a trip to 25th-ranked Indiana Wesleyan at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

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