By Tony Miller
Sports Information Director

GOSHEN, Ind. — Darienne Maust's nine kills and Lindsay McQuinn's four blocks weren't quite enough for the Goshen College women's volleyball team Wednesday evening as the Maple Leafs pushed two sets past their scheduled distance but dropped a Crossroads League decision to Grace College in Gunden Gymnasium.

The Maple Leafs (12-19, 4-14) took Grace to 28-26 in the first set and 29-27 in the third; the Lancers (20-14, 12-16) finished the second stanza on a 19-6 run while finishing that set 25-13. Each team saved three set points in the match and Grace's match-point breakthrough came on the fourth try after 81 minutes of volleyball.

Goshen finished the match with 29 winners, almost half of which came in the first set as the team hit .227. Grace would counter with 13 kills in the second period as Goshen mustered three; the Lancers matched their first-set total with 19 kills in the third against Goshen's 12. All told, the visitors put down 51 spikes to Goshen's 29.

Grace's Kelsee Zuidema finished with a match-high 21 kills: she hit .563 on 32 attempts in the match. Savannah Hart and Sierra Smith each finished with seven kills on the visiting side while senior Christy Swartzendruber added six for Goshen. Lancer setter Alexa Hill finished with 43 assists.

The Maple Leafs finished with more blocks (seven) than their opponents: each team posted four aces and six service errors. After McQuinn, Sydney Cruz and Meghan Gerke each finished with three stuffs for the home side, a total that Kari Feddema matched in leading Grace.

Swartzendruber finishes her career second in Goshen College history on both ends of the serving spectrum: her .971 efficiency as a server trails only 1986 alum Brenda Ervin, while a .956 mark on the receiving side makes her runner-up to 2011 graduate Peni Acayo. In the latter category, Swartzendruber missed the school record by less than 0.7 percentage points, the equivalent of one fewer reception error or 12 more successful passes. Her .982 service efficiency this season is the fourth-best mark in school history.

Two other Maple Leafs earned spots in the record book as well: Jennifer Ritchie capped her first year of eligibility with a .961 service reception percentage, good for seventh all-time, while Darienne Maust's 0.96 blocks per set are the most in a season since the 25-point set with rally scoring was instituted in 2008. Natalie Hubby's 2015 campaign held the previous mark with 0.88.

Maust's 0.861 blocks per set are also the most by a Maple Leaf that played most of her career in the 25-point set era, beating out Hubby's 0.693 from 2012-15, but the sophomore has two more years of eligibility remaining. Maust will go into her junior year needing 91 blocks to reach Goshen's top 10 across all eras.

As a team, Goshen finished with a .917 serve reception mark, the fifth-best in program history and highest percentage since 2010.

The loss eliminated Goshen from contention for the Crossroads League tournament, an eight-team affair that begins on Saturday. All-conference awards are slated for announcement in the first half of November, followed by academic honors in December. Stay tuned to GoLeafs.net throughout the offseason for more information on the Maple Leaf volleyball team and each of GC's other athletic programs.