ELGIN, Ill. — The Goshen College men's volleyball team is above .500 and on a three-match winning streak, each for the first time in program history, after taking a pair of three-set matches from Rockford College and Clarke University on Saturday at the Judson University Early Bird Invitational.

The Maple Leafs topped Rockford 25-12, 25-16, 25-17 and escaped Clarke 27-25, 25-18, 25-22. Goshen was one of three teams to finish the weekend 3-1 in a de facto tie for second, joining fourth-ranked Lourdes and ninth-ranked Aquinas. Missouri Baptist University was the lone unbeaten team.

GC topped .500 for the first time in program history in its ninth match of the season and first of the day, sweeping a Rockford team that was the tournament's lone entry from NCAA Division III.

Alexander Rabadzhiev led all players with 13 kills on 19 errorless swings, coming within five winners of the Regents' team total. Elias Baer and Jack Paraha finished with 6 spikes apiece and Michael Wahl added 5 on 9 attempts to go with a match-high 26 assists.

Ian Fox finished with 5 blocks, including the match's only two solo stuffs, while Goshen's hitters did not have an attack end in a block all match. GC's defense held Rockford (0-8) to 18 winners against 17 errors, including 6 blocks, and out-dug the Regents 33-21.

Jose Padron Garcia registered 5 Rockford kills while Jorge Pando had 13 assists, 2 aces and 7 digs to lead the team in all three categories. Baer matched him for the match high in digs.

The Maple Leafs trailed once, at 2-1 in the second set, opening leads of 13-4 and 14-4 in the other two stanzas. That second set was tied at the first four opportunities before a 5-1 Goshen run pushed the lead to 10-5; while Rockford kept the margin close, GC answered with 13 sideouts out of 16 receiving points to prevent the Regents from catching up.

Will Gaby connected with Wahl on the block to end the second set, registering his first career stop, while Joel Plank's first collegiate kill ended the match.

In the second match, Goshen won despite finishing with 31 kills to Clarke's 42, forcing the Pride into 21 attack errors and 14 service miscues. The Maple Leafs also finished with a 9-5 edge in points won on blocks.

Andy Bennett finished with 7 blocks and a pair of aces, leading the team in both categories, while Paraha racked up 7 kills and 4 digs. Wahl led the team in both digs and assists, finishing with 8 and 25 respectively, and Rabadzhiev posted a team-high 9 kills.

Clarke (4-6) got 13 kills from Nick Ramos and 12 from Alex Pasek, but also had three players post 6 hitting errors apiece while two players missed on 4 serves each. Pasek led all players with 11 digs and Montez Thompson recorded 4 blocks.

The Pride opened a quick 8-4 lead in the first set, only to see it evaporate with Bennett's two aces keying a four-point run to make it 11-all. Clarke rallied again, picking up 4 of the next 6 points to go up 17-13 before Wahl recorded three kills in a 7-2 spurt to put the Maple Leafs up two.

The Maple Leafs broke ties at every chance from 22 to 25, but Clarke answered the first three times. In extra points, though, a Bennett block earned Goshen the requisite two-point margin for the 27-25 win.

Goshen carried that momentum into a second set where it never trailed, opening a fast 5-1 lead and allowing Clarke just four points on its own serve from there on out. GC hit .310 with just three errors in that set to go up 2-0 in the match.

Clarke had the early momentum in the third set, going up 9-6 on a three-point run and picking up its largest lead of the day at 18-14. A four-point Goshen run tied the score and GC broke four ties in its favor after 18-all, including kills by Paraha and Baer to end the match.

Goshen returns to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play for a pair of matches next week, beginning with a visit to Lourdes in Sylvania, Ohio, on Wednesday. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Ebeid Center.