GOSHEN, Ind. — The Maple Leafs had the first set tied 16-16 and the third set knotted up at 12, but ultimately fell to #21 Indiana Wesleyan 25-17, 25-7, 25-16.
Brielle Agnew had a season-high seven digs in the contest – leading the team in the category for the game and beating her previous mark of four from August 21
st against Mount Mercy.
Naomi Willis picked up 15 assists and
Emily Lynch racked up nine of the team's 22 kills.
For Indiana Wesleyan (12-3, 9-3), Olivia Zawadzki led the Wildcats in aces with three and assists with 37. She and Macy Puthoff each had two blocks as well. Martina Demarchi and Courtney Watkins both had double-digit kills.
Goshen (3-20, 0-12) came out strong from the start. The Maple Leafs started with a 3-1 lead, and after trailing 8-11, came back to tie things up at 12. The Wildcats scored four straight to take a 16-12 lead, but Goshen responded with four of their own. Tied at 16, IWU went on a 9-1 run that the Maple Leafs couldn't answer – and took the set 25-17.
The momentum went on into the second set for Indiana Wesleyan. They won nine of the first ten points and Goshen could only rally up a few points here and there as the Wildcats started to show why they are ranked. The second set went to IWU 25-7.
The Maple Leafs got back on their feet in the third and started with a 4-2 lead thanks in part to an ace by
Brielle Agnew. Goshen lost four of the next five points but then went on a streak of four straight with kills from
Amy Baca and
Maddy Beaver to lead 9-6. The teams tied at 12, but then the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run and kept pushing forward from there, winning set three 25-16.
Coming up next for Goshen is the Liz Lykowski Memorial Tournament this Friday and Saturday at Indiana Tech. The Maple Leafs will face four opponents in 24 hours – Northwestern Ohio (Friday at 2:00 p.m.), Trinity Christian (Friday at 6:00 p.m.), Indiana Tech (Saturday at 10:00 a.m.), and Judson (Saturday at noon). The next home match is on Friday, October 15
th against Taylor in Ruth Gunden Gymnasium.
