By Tony Miller
Sports Information Director

GOSHEN, Ind. — Darienne Maust matched her career high with 17 kills Friday night as Goshen College notched its first Crossroads League win of the women's volleyball season with a four-set win over Taylor University in Gunden Gymnasium.

The Maple Leafs (8-10, 1-6) got 4-0 and 6-0 runs in the first set to claim it 25-16, marking their largest margin of victory in a set against the Trojans since 2014. Goshen hit .243 with 12 winners, including four from Maust, in the period while holding Taylor to nine with seven errors.

After falling behind 6-0 to open the second period, Taylor (12-5, 5-3) ran off seven of the next eight points to knot the score at 7. The visitors would lead once, at 10-9, before GC pulled back ahead for good in the set. The spurt was capped by kills from Meghan Gerke and Lindsay McQuinn after the pair combined for a block. Taylor used a GC service error and three kills to get back within 22-21, but three more Trojan errors let GC claim the set 25-22.

The third set had more than its share of runs but less than its share of drama. Goshen again took a 6-0 lead before Taylor claimed 14 of the next 16 points, which was in turn followed by another 6-0 GC sprint to make it 14-all. The teams traded points twice before a Gerke winner and a Trojan attack error put the hosts up 17-15. After two-more sets of trades, Taylor won eight of the last nine to stay alive with a 25-20 win.

The fourth stanza included seven lead changes and 14 ties, including every number from 1 to 6. GC took a 15-9 lead behind kills or blocks from five players only to watch the lead evaporate in a 13-4 Trojan run. With Taylor up 24-21 and holding three set points, the match seemed destined for a deciding set.

Christy Swartzendruber, Erin Strock and Maust each had other ideas, posting three straight kills to level the score. That brought on another streak of ties at six straight numbers, with the Maple Leafs saving three more set points and Taylor staying alive through three match points.

Goshen's breakthrough came at 30-30, when Taylor was called for a set error before Strock's ace finished a 32-30 win. GC racked up 20 winners to the Trojans' 17 in the final stanza.

The victory marked Goshen's first over Taylor since a five-set win in Odle Arena during the 2012 Crossroads League tournament; it was the first time since 1991 that GC knocked off Taylor in a match that did not go the full distance.

Maust led all players in the kill department, followed on her team by nine from Swartzendruber and eight from McQuinn. Becca Gerig led Taylor with 14, one more than Rachel Bouma.

Trojan setter Haley Harrell led all players with 36 assists: she added 18 digs, one shy of Gerig and Samantha Korn for the team lead. Jennifer Ritchie paced GC with 21 digs, claiming the match high despite playing roughly half the match in the front row.

Goshen racked up eight blocks, with McQuinn and Maust each getting one solo stuff and three assists. Sydney Cruz participated in three stuffs, while Gerke got in on two to go with six kills. Hallie Vanitvelt added four aces for Goshen, matching Taylor's team output.

The win kept Goshen within 5 1/2 games of the Crossroads League lead on a night when the conference standings compacted as first-place Marian lost. The Maple Leafs play their next two matches against the teams directly ahead of them in Spring Arbor and Bethel.

GC returns to the court Saturday in Michigan when it takes on SAU at 6:30 p.m.; the match starts later than usual due to a facility conflict in Dunckel Gymnasium.