OSKALOOSA, Iowa – The Goshen men's volleyball team finished day one of the William Penn Invite held at William Penn University with two sweeps. The Leafs defeated Central Christian College 25-12, 25-10, 25-18 and then beat Saint Ambrose 25-18, 25-17, 25-15.
 
In their first match, the Maple Leafs took on Central Christian. Goshen was never behind at any point in the match. The Leafs won the first five points in the first set and cruised to a 25-12 victory.
 
Goshen led 8-5 in the second set before a service error forced head coach Lauren Ford to use a timeout. The team responded with a kill from Andrew Salinas and seven more points with Ian Fox serving. The lead grew to 16-6, and GC won seven of the last eight points to win in set two, 25-10.
 
Goshen carried the dominance over to the third set by starting with a 6-0 lead and causing a Central Christian timeout. The Tigers regrouped and scored 13 of the following 20 points to tie it 13-13. However, Goshen capped it off with a 12-5 run to win 25-18 and take the match 3-0.
 
The Maple Leafs had 35 kills to the Tigers' 13. Goshen won in assists (31-13), digs (34-21), blocks (5-1), and aces (7-2) as well. The Leafs had a .269 hitting percentage, and Central Christian was at -.110.
 
Christian Rodriguez posted seven kills, five digs, and a block. Lucas Sauder had 11 kills. Michael Wahl had 20 assists, and Andrew Salinas had 11. Pablo Sanchez had a season-high ten digs. Ian Fox added four kills and three blocks.
 
The Maple Leafs faced the Fighting Bees from Saint Ambrose in their second and final match of the day.
 
Tied at 12 in the first set, the Leafs took seven of the next eight with an ace from Andy Bennett to close the run. That was the jolt that Goshen needed to win the first set 25-18.
 
Goshen was on the way to victory in set two with a 22-9 lead. The Fighting Bees made it interesting by winning eight of the following ten points, but the early deficit was too much to overcome, and the Leafs won 25-17.
 
Like the first set, the teams were tied at ten in the third, but Goshen came through in the second half to pull away. They won set three 25-15 and took the match 3-0. Saint Ambrose had won their previous four matches going back to February 25.
 
"The middles have been working very hard lately," shared Ford. "Ian and Michael are really connecting. Andy is known for his front-row presence, but today he decided to put in work in the back row. Lucas played middle really well to give Ian and Andy a break."
 
Sauder had six kills, 11 digs, and three blocks. Alexander Rabadzhiev displayed eight kills and three digs, with a .318 hitting percentage. Andy Bennett added four kills, three blocks, and six digs. Wahl had 26 assists.
 
Goshen is right back at it tomorrow when they play three games in the final day at the William Penn Invite. "Lots of rest and regeneration will be important," said Ford. "We need to trust ourselves, our teammates, and our training."
 
At 12:30 pm EST tomorrow, Goshen will face Morningside. Then at 3:00 pm EST, they'll take on Kansas Wesleyan. At 5:30 pm EST, they take on the host - #2 William Penn.