GEORGETOWN, Ky. - The GC men's volleyball team got better throughout the day as they went 1-1 at the Georgetown Tri-Match in Kentucky on Saturday. They lost to #9 Georgetown in three sets in the first match and beat Warner in the second match 3-0. Warner, from Florida, is receiving votes in the coaches poll.

Goshen vs Georgetown
The Tigers came into the match with a 3-1 record with their only loss coming to Indiana Tech in five sets in their first match of the year. They were 9-1 in the Mid-South Conference last year and 12-1 at home. They looked the part in the first two sets, winning 25-18 and 25-19.

But the Leafs were much more dominant in the third. They had hitting percentages of .050 and .103 in the first and second sets, but bumped it up to .370 in the next. The Leafs scored the first three points of the set from kills by Hasan Hadzic and Ian Fox and an ace by Avery Laforce. They built a five-point lead at 20-15 when the Tigers began to roar back. Georgetown scored seven of the next eight and later had match point at 24-23. Goshen got a couple of points when they needed them but the home team eventually emerged victorious with two points in a row to win 27-25.

Hasan Hadzic had 12 kills and Ben Koop had eight. Koop had just one attack error and a hitting percentage of .538. Avery Laforce had 20 assists and Ishmail Bangura totaled ten digs and two aces.

Goshen vs Warner
Head coach Jeff Phillips appreciated the upward momentum the team made at the end of the Georgetown match that led to a sweep of Warner. "We were able to compete against Georgetown and push them in set three," he said. "That allowed us to play a clean match against Warner. That will help build some confidence moving into next week."

Goshen was particularly dominant in a first set 25-13 win against the Royals. The Maple Leafs had a .450 hitting percentage compared to -.182 for Warner. The teams were tied at nine when the Leafs ended the set on an impressive 16-4 run, including a 6-0 run at the end.

Warner never led in the second set as GC won 25-16. They led 10-7 in the third but Goshen ended that set on an 18-7 run. The Royals had a 16-7 record a year ago and a 10-0 mark in conference play.

Like the first match, Hadzic posted 12 kills and Koop had eight. Hadzic had a better hitting percentage in this match though, at .348. Laforce had 25 assists. 
Goshen had 16 aces in the match, crushing the previous school record of 13 from March 11, 2023 against Rio Grande and January 16, 2021 against Cornerstone. The aces came from Hadzic (5), Bangura (3), Laforce (3), Koop (3), Bruno Barac (1) and Pablo Sanchez (1).

Goshen (2-2) hosts Judson on Tuesday, February 6, at 7:00 pm. The Eagles are receiving votes in the coaches' poll.