GOSHEN, Ind. — Hallie Vanitvelt matched her career high with 17 kills, but a two-set lead would not be enough for the Goshen College women's volleyball team Wednesday in a five-set loss to Grace College in Gunden Gymnasium.

The Maple Leafs (7-11, 1-5) hit .344 in the opening set, posting 14 kills against 3 errors to claim a 25-21 win without trailing at any time. The second stanza started with four Maple Leaf points in a row with the hosts eventually leading by four as late as 15-11. Grace responded with six in a row to turn a 19-16 hole into a 22-19 lead, but Goshen prevailed 28-26 in extra points to take a two-sets-to-none lead.

Grace (11-4, 5-2) took that momentum into the third set with a 3-0 lead, eventually pulling ahead 10-3 on two Caylie Teel kills. While MacKinnon Tracy's serve sparked a five-point run later in the set to bring Goshen within 16-11, the hosts would get no closer in a 25-16 defeat.

Back-to-back Lancer blocks set up an early 5-2 lead in the fourth, and though neither team won more than three points in a row the rest of the way, Grace never trailed as it leveled the match 25-17.

The first four sets finished level, but were largely devoid of drama with a combined two lead changes. The fifth set would share the close factor, but had other ideas about how.

For the first time in two sets, Goshen took the initial lead behind a Vanitvelt winner and a set error. Grace sandwiched two kills around a Maple Leaf error to lead 3-2 before Elizabeth Breckbill leveled the score with a kill.

The Lancers scored four consecutive points in four distinct ways for a 7-3 lead, eerily similar to the manner in which they seized control in the third and fourth sets. This time, however, Goshen would reply with its own run as Breckbill and Eash bookended a four-point spurt to reach 7-all.

Once again, the visitors cast out a four-point run behind three kills. The teams traded sideouts before Goshen reeled off three kills and a block to level the score. Vanitvelt factored in three of the four points, joining Eash on a block to make it 12-10 before recording the next two kills to square the score.

After a Lancer timeout, however, Goshen's comeback magic expired. Makaela Lochmueller added a kill to put Grace back in front before an attack error and an ace ended the abbreviated deciding set.

Kelsee Zuidema led all players with 18 kills for Grace, outdoing Teel by one. Lochmueller finished with a match-high .455 hitting percentage. Breckbill recorded 12 kills and Eash 10 for the Maple Leafs.

Not surprisingly, the two liberos each led their team in digs: Grace's Gina Novotny recorded 23 and Tracy finished with 22. Alexa Hill finished with 49 assists for the visitors.

Notable Numbers:

67: Wednesday's match was the 67th meeting between the Maple Leafs and Lancers, who have played at least once a year since 1970 and been conference foes since 1992. The Grace win snapped a tie in the all-time series.

166: The Maple Leafs finished with 166 attack attempts, their third-highest total of the year. They also finished with their third-best mark in kills (55) and assists (51).

4: Eash and Haylee Pennington led Goshen with four blocks apiece.

Up Next: Goshen at Taylor — Friday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.