By Chandler Ingle
Sports Information Intern

UPLAND, Ind. — What seemed to be an easy Friday night on the court for Taylor University turned interesting Friday night Goshen College turned the Trojans' early two-set advantage into a 2-2 tie before losing in five sets in Crossroads League women's volleyball action at Odle Arena.

Straightforward 25-13 and 25-14 scores in the first two frames transitioned to 26-24 and 25-20 nail biters in favor of the Maple Leafs (12-17, 4-12), but Goshen's comeback train seemingly ran out of steam in the tiebreaking set as the Trojans (20-15, 10-8 CL) prevailed 15-9 for the final tally.

Goshen struggled on the offensive end, finishing the weekend-starter striking just .107 as a team. Coming off a career-high 20 kills just two days ago, team kill leader Darienne Maust was held to just a single putaway. Senior Christy Swartzendruber paced the GC attack with 11 winners and the Maple Leafs ended with 43 as a team. Taylor Eash added seven kills while Elizabeth Breckbill and Lindsay McQuinn added six as well.

Despite the shaky offensive showing, McQuinn played her part on the other side of things with a career-high eight blocks. Goshen registered nine total on the evening. MacKinnon Tracy and Swartzendruber also excelled defensively with 18 and 15 digs respectively. Ally Roehr added 12.  

The Trojans finished with 59 winners, posting 11 against two errors in the deciding set. Amanda Adams racked up 15 kills to lead all players and a group of four Trojans in double digits. Haley Harrell led TU with 45 assists and 27 digs while Rachel Bouma added four blocks.

Goshen will return to its home court Saturday to face Spring Arbor University at 3 p.m. on Senior Day. Goshen cannot clinch a spot in the CL tournament with a win on Saturday, but a win would mean a tournament berth unless trailing Mount Vernon Nazarene University wins its match on Tuesday and GC drops its finale next Wednesday against Grace College. On the other hand, a Goshen loss Saturday would leave MVNU in the driver's seat, putting the Cougars in the tournament unless they lose and the Maple Leafs win.