By Tony Miller
Sports Information Director

MISHAWAKA, Ind. — Goshen College's two-match women's volleyball winning streak crashed to a halt Wednesday in a 25-22, 25-16, 25-10 loss to Bethel College at the Wiekamp Center.

Goshen (9-11, 2-7 Crossroads League) led briefly in the first set as three Darienne Maust kills put the team up 6-4 after 19 points. That success was short-lived, though, as Bethel used an 11-5 spurt to pull ahead by as many as five points. GC got back within two at 23-21 and 24-22, but Bethel kills on each following point ended any comeback hopes.

The Pilots (10-13, 3-7) used a 6-1 run to stretch a three-point lead out to 20-12 in the second set before seizing the match with a 14-2 spurt in the third set. Bethel racked up 43 kills and 10 blocks in the match, holding the Maple Leafs to 26 kills and two stuffs. Bethel's Payton Anderson led all players with 12 winners while two different Pilots had five blocks each.

Goshen got a team-high six kills from Natalie Omtvedt and five apiece out of Darienne Maust, Sydney Cruz and Meghan Gerke but racked up 21 attack errors as a group. Ally Roehr finished with a team-high 13 assists while Hallie Vanitvelt posted 11 digs and Meghan Manley the team's lone ace.

Libero Erin Carlos finished with a match-high 17 digs for BC, which got 19 helpers from Anderson.

The loss drops Goshen half a game behind Bethel and into ninth place in the conference standings: GC will catch back up to the rest of the league with its 10th conference match on Friday.

Goshen returns to action Friday evening after its longest road trip of the year, meeting Mount Vernon Nazarene at 7 p.m. in Mount Vernon, Ohio. The match will be GC's 17th away from home out of its first 21 this season: the team plays six straight home matches beginning October 6.