GOSHEN, Ind. – Goshen couldn't entirely complete its comeback from being down two sets to none on Saturday against Lourdes – falling in the fifth set. The same scenario played out again on Wednesday night, but this time the Leafs won the final three sets against Mount Vernon Nazarene to win three sets to two – 22-25, 22-25, 25-16, 25-18, 15-8.
The first two sets weren't stunning for Goshen. The Cougars hit .297 in the first set and .226 in the second. On the other hand, Goshen hit .118 in the first and .138 in the second. MVNU had 28 kills in the first two sets compared to 18 for the Maple Leafs.
"In the first sets, we were not clicking or communicating," said head coach
Lauren Ford. "We dialed it back, went back to the basics, and played it point by point."
Things changed in the third set. Goshen had 16 kills and two errors and posted a .467 hitting percentage. The fourth set was much of the same, with 17 kills this time and a .394 hitting percentage.
Mount Vernon Nazarene never had the lead in the fifth set. The teams were tied three times, but Goshen pulled away on a 6-1 run to make a 4-4 tie into a 10-5 GC lead. The stretch included a tremendous defensive effort by Goshen with three blocks in a row to take a 9-5 lead. The Cougars scored a few more times, but Goshen finished it by scoring the final five points and winning 15-8.
"Rome wasn't built in a day, and in our case, a match isn't won in one point or play," Ford shared. "I'm really proud of my guys tonight." She said it was easy to act like they've been in this scenario because they have been there. They learned from their mistake against Lourdes and finished it tonight. This is the first match in program history where Goshen has overcome a 2-0 deficit to come back and win 3-2.
The Leafs had nine blocks, while MVNU had just three.
Alexander Rabadzhiev and
Lucas Sauder each had 20 kills.
Ian Fox and
Andy Bennett each had four blocks – Bennett's were all solo blocks.
Michael Wahl had a nice, round 50 assists, and Rabadzhiev led the team in digs with 16.
Goshen is now 3-0 all-time against MVNU and moves to 6-3 this season with a 2-3 record in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. The Cougars fall to 4-6 and 2-4 in the WHAC.
Goshen competes in the Judson University Tournament this weekend. They play Roosevelt at 1:00 pm on Friday and Olivet Nazarene at 7:30 pm. Then on Saturday, the Leafs take on Judson at 1:00 pm and Lincoln College at 3:30 pm. All times are EST. The next home game is Wednesday, February 16, against Aquinas at 7:00 pm.
