FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Goshen women's volleyball team not only addressed the elephant in the room - they sent it packing.

The Maple Leafs ended a long conference match losing streak and did so in emphatic fashion with a 3-0 sweep on the road at Saint Francis on Saturday evening. The Leafs won 25-23, 25-20, 25-15.

Goshen's last conference win came in 2019, the last match of that season. The last sweep in a conference match came on October 5, 2016, over Grace. The last sweep in a conference match on the road was September 9, 2016, at Huntington.

Both teams hit the ball well in the first set. Goshen held a narrow lead for most of the set, leading 22-19 late. The Cougars scored three straight to tie it but two Sadie Brenneman kills from Kelsie Hankins gave Goshen a set point. The Cougars scored once more, but one last kill from Hankins to Brenneman made it 25-23 in favor of the Leafs.

The second set was a tale of two halves. The Cougars scored the first four points and built up an 11-2 lead. Yet Goshen ended the set on a 23-9 run, which included seven points in a row with Brenneman serving. Brenneman also had back-to-back aces within that span.

Goshen was dominant in the final set - the only lead for Saint Francis was at 1-0. The Cougars had a .029 hitting percentage in the set. The Cougars had an overall hitting percentage of .132 in the match. When Goshen's opponents hit under .150 this year, the Leafs are 5-0.

Brenneman led the team with 14 kills and three aces. She was second on the team with nine digs and tied for second with two blocks, one being a solo block. Kelsie Hankins had 34 assists, averaging over 11 per set. Alaina Wolfe had 12 digs in the match and Brenna Spangler racked up three block assists.

Goshen has been 14-18 against Saint Francis since 2007 but lost the last 15 against the Cougars.

GC is 1-3 in Crossroads League play and plays at Bethel on Wednesday, September 18, at 7:00 pm.