MISHAWAKA, Ind. - If Tuesday night's match proved to be the precursor to future matchups between the Maple Leafs and Pilots, then fans of the two schools separated by U.S. Highway 20 are in for a treat.
Bethel won the five-set thriller on Tuesday in Mishawaka in the two schools' first-ever men's volleyball meeting. Goshen hosts the Pilots on March 7.
Bethel was up early, 10-3 in the first set, but the Leafs rallied to come back within a point at 18-17. The Pilots scored six of the last seven points to take the first set 25-19.
Goshen held a slim lead for nearly the entire second set. Never ahead by more than four, the Leafs never let the Pilots take the lead in the set. Goshen won 25-22 and won the third set by the same score. Bethel had an 11-7 lead in the third until Goshen scored five straight, ending with a kill by
Ishmail Bangura and an ace from
Christian Rodriguez. The Pilots were up 22-20 when the Leafs went on another 5-0 run, this time to end the set. Bangura had three kills in the final five points.
Up two sets to one, GC lost the advantage when BU won the fourth set by the same score as the first, 25-19. They were up 4-2 in the fifth when interim head coach Jewel Lehman called a timeout. The Leafs responded after the break by scoring the following two points, the latter from a massive block by
Andy Bennett. Bangura had a major kill when down 7-5 to pull the Leafs within one, and
Leo Minetto and Bennett combined for a block to make it a one-point deficit again at 10-9.
Two Bethel kills from Arthur Barreto and Mustafa Yildiz gave the home team a 12-9 advantage, and they carried that edge to a 15-12 victory in the fifth.
Wyatt Bollinger had 45 assists and six digs for Goshen.
Juan Llama had 12 kills and a .320 hitting percentage, and
Ishmail Bangura totaled 18 kills.
Christian Rodriguez had 12 digs.
Arthur Barreto led the Bethel attack with 23 kills, followed by 16 from Marcos Henrike. Meric Akovali had 52 assists. Goshen (2-5, 2-4 WHAC) is at (RV) Cornerstone on Friday, February 17, at 7:00 pm.
