GOSHEN, Ind. — Jennifer Ritchie's 17 kills and Haylee Pennington's 13 winners led the Goshen College women's volleyball team Tuesday in a four-set loss to Mount Vernon Nazarene University at Gunden Gymnasium. The Maple Leafs took a tense third set but fell just short of leveling the match in the fourth, losing 25-19, 25-14, 23-25, 25-23.

Ally Roehr posted 35 assists and 20 digs to lead Goshen (5-12, 0-5 Crossroads League) in both categories. Ritchie added 18 digs, Tessa Clark had 13 and Shelbey Younts recorded 11.

Mount Vernon Nazarene (14-2, 4-1) got a team-high 15 kills from three players: Ashley Stumperth, Tory Small and Nicole Winkler. Mary Kate Harmody added 13 winners and the team's only two solo blocks. Paige Brenner racked up 56 assists.

The Cougars hit .315 for the match and .283 or better in each set, recording 91 digs to Goshen's 76. Ellie Ruby finished with 22 digs, one of four Cougars to reach double figures. The Maple Leafs finished with a .212 attacking figure, checking in at .289 and .292 respectively in the last two sets.

Mount Vernon Nazarene never trailed by more than a point in the first set, but struggled to pull away, never leading by more than 5. Goshen closed within two points at 20-18 on a Jennifer Ritchie winner before two errors and a block gave the Cougars the set win. MVNU used a 9-1 run to break open the second set and get within one of the match.

The Maple Leafs would not be denied, however, even after falling behind 9-4 in the third. A run of four straight points on Younts' serve, including back-to-back aces, made it 14-all and a Ritchie ace re-tied the score at 18. The set would be tied at every chance from 18 to 23, but Pennington's 3 kills in the last 9 points kept Goshen alive.

The fourth set was more of the same, with the Cougars jumping out to an 11-4 lead before getting reeled back in by a 6-2 Goshen run. Olivia Koop and Ritchie alternated kills for a four-point run to bring it back to 16-15, only to watch MVNU extend the lead back to 4 at 20-16 before two Taylor Eash kills made it 21-all.

Harmody had three of the Cougars' last four kills to ice the match.

Goshen hosts Bethel at 7 p.m. Friday on Maple Leaf Pride Night.