ADRIAN, Mich. – Siena Heights moved to 7-3 in the WHAC after defeating Goshen in four sets on Saturday afternoon in Adrian – 25-19, 25-19, 28-30, 25-21. Both teams are receiving votes in the most recent NAIA coaches poll.
Goshen's four-game winning streak comes to an end, and they split the series with the Saints after beating them 3-0 in Goshen on January 29. The Maple Leafs are 0-4 against Siena Heights on the road all-time.
In the first set, GC led as late as 17-16 until the home team rattled off five points in a row. It was the start of a 9-2 run that ended the set and gave Siena Heights the early advantage.
Due to four straight Saints attack errors, Goshen led 8-6 in the second set. Siena Heights responded by scoring 11 of the following 14 points to take a 17-11 lead. The Leafs climbed back to within two points on multiple occasions, but the Saints won by the same score as the first set, 25-19.
Goshen controlled more of the third set, never allowing Siena Heights to take the lead until 23-22. Even then, the Maple Leafs battled back. The Saints were at match point twice, but Goshen scored when they needed it and won the set 30-28 after much back-and-forth scoring.
The Maple Leafs rode the momentum into the fourth set, taking the first three points and then leading 7-4. An
Ian Fox kill gave Goshen a 14-13 lead, but it would be their last lead of the match. Siena Heights scored ten of the next 13. And though Goshen would then score three straight and force a Saints timeout, the host won 25-21 and took the match 3-1.
Siena Heights had the kills advantage 64-42, led in digs 55-35, and were ahead in assists 59-39. For Goshen,
Alexander Rabadzhiev had 16 kills, six digs, and an ace.
Michael Wahl had 38 assists and five digs,
Ian Fox had nine kills and five blocks, and
Christian Rodriguez had seven kills and seven digs.
Andy Bennett and
Lucas Sauder had four blocks each. Siena Heights had 11 blocks – the most by any opponent this season. The Leafs had ten blocks of their own.
Siena Heights had 23 kills from Ramon Matos, 50 assists from Zak Tucker, and 19 digs from Joudiel Poveymirow.
The Saints are now 11-3 this season, while Goshen falls to 12-5 and 4-4 in the WHAC. GC has another tough test on Wednesday, March 2, as they play at #5 Indiana Tech at 7:00 pm in Fort Wayne before spending the weekend at the William Penn Invite in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
