GOSHEN, Ind. — The Goshen College women's volleyball team was forced to continue its quest for a first Crossroads League win of the season on Saturday, dropping a three-set decision to Spring Arbor University by set scores of 25-13, 25-17 and 25-20 in Ruth Gunden Gymnasium.

Emily Lynch led Goshen (3-12, 0-4) with 9 kills and 3 blocks. Haylee Pennington added 7 kills and Emma Dippon also had 3 blocks. Naomi Willis assisted on 23 of the team's 27 kills.

Spring Arbor held a 38-27 lead in kills and also recorded a dozen aces, paced by Frances Churchwell with 5 and Claudia Ellis with 3. Ellis recorded a match-high 12 kills and also blocked 2 shots. Churchwell led the team with 9 digs, though GC's Gwyn Bellamy added 11 to lead all players.

The Cougars (8-8, 1-3) used 7 kills and an ace in a 9-2 run that broke open what was a 7-7 first set, one in which they hit .375 with 16 kills. After a 5-all tie in the second, SAU ripped off three Churchwell aces in the next seven points to go up 12-5. GC answered with a 3-point run later on to get within 16-11 on a pair of Lynch blocks before another 7-1 SAU spurt earned the visitors 10 set points.

Goshen's best set of the day was the third, which the team led at 3-2 before 5-1 and 6-1 runs put the visitors back in front. GC never fell further than 6 points behind, though, with a 5-2 run trimming the deficit to 23-20. Ellis and Alison Ford finished the match with kills.

The road does not get all that much easier for Goshen next week: the Maple Leafs travel to Taylor University, a gym in which they have not won since 2012, for a 7:30 first serve on Wednesday night, then make the second-longest road trip in the Crossroads League to visit Mount Vernon Nazarene on Friday. The team is back home Saturday against Saint Francis.