FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Goshen men's volleyball team played one less opponent than they hoped on Friday due to COVID-19. But they will be more than satisfied with the outcome of the match they did get to play. The Maple Leafs beat the Trine Thunder in four sets, winning 30-28, 23-25, 25-20, and 25-17 in the Crossroads Crossover at Indiana Tech.
 
Alexander Rabadzhiev and Lucas Sauder had 17 kills each for the Maple Leafs, with Rabadzhiev's kill coming on the match's final point to tie them up. Michael Wahl assisted on 42 of Goshen's 54 kills. Brayton Yoder recorded 19 digs on the defensive side, and Wahl had 16. Andy Bennett had eight blocks, whereas Trine had nine as a team.
 
The Leafs got off to a quick start early on, taking a 4-0 lead in the first set with kills from Rabadzhiev and Sauder. The Thunder hung around, although Goshen maintained a narrow lead. The Leafs led 20-15, but Trine fought back to have a set point at 24-23. A kill by Sauder nixed their plans of winning it there, and the teams would go back and forth until back-to-back attack errors by Trine gave Goshen a 30-28 win.
 
Although GC made it interesting late, Trine controlled most of the second set. Down by five, Goshen had a 6-1 stretch to tie it at 23 before the Thunder won the final two points. Goshen would dominate the following two sets, however.
 
Trine's 1-0 lead in set three would be the last time they had the advantage in this match. Goshen scored the next five points on their way to a 25-20 set win. The fourth set was the best of the night for Goshen. "We really wanted to finish it right there," said head coach Lauren Ford. They built a 12-4 lead and won it 25-17. In the final set, the Maple Leafs had 13 kills, one error, and a hitting percentage of .480. "I really thought our serving got better," Ford added. "There were fewer errors, and it gave us a chance to work our defense."
 
Ford was particularly pleased with the work of Christian Rodriguez, who had ten digs and eight kills for the evening. "Christian came up huge for us," she said. "His energy really powered us through." This was the most kills he has had in a match since February 27, 2019, at Adrian.
 
While Trine (0-2) won the aces category, Goshen had more kills, assists, and digs than the Thunder – and doubled their block total (10-5). Last season, Trine was 11-6. They compete at the Division III level in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League. They were picked to finish third out of nine in the preseason coaches poll for the league.
 
Goshen advances to 2-0 on the season and is next in action at the Olivet Nazarene Quad on Tuesday, January 18. The Leafs face Trinity Christian at 6:00 pm and Olivet Nazarene at 8:00 pm that evening. The next home match is Tuesday, January 25, at 7:00 pm against Indiana Tech.