ELGIN, Ill. - The Goshen men's volleyball season got underway on the road at Judson on Thursday night. The Eagles prevailed in four sets, defeating the Maple Leafs 25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 25-18.

Goshen had a much stronger hitting percentage than Judson in the first set, but the Eagles had four aces which helped contribute to their six-point win. The second set was played with neither team taking more than a two-point advantage. Goshen had a two-point lead five times. Judson could say the same just twice, but it was when they led 24-22 and won at 25-23. Both teams hit .333 or higher in the set.

Goshen's worst hitting percentage came in their third set win, but Judson's was even worse. They had ten attack errors, and while they had twice as many kills as the Leafs in the set, Goshen wasn't committing as many errors. The home team reduced the mistakes in the fourth set on the way to a 25-18 win to take the match 3-1.

The Maple Leafs finished with a higher hitting percentage, but the Eagles had more kills, assists and digs. They were especially strong in the aces category, averaging more than three per set. After Goshen won five of the first six matchups between the two schools, Judson has now won the last three.

Bruno Barac led GC with 12 kills and a .455 hitting percentage. He had six digs, a solo block and a block assist. Ishmail Bangura had ten kills and Sawyer Frystak totaled nine. Pablo Sanchez led the team with seven digs and Igor Sapucaia had 30 assists and six digs. As a team, the Maple Leafs had five aces and 23 service errors - their most in a match since January 27 last year against Lakeland. Goshen's 13 reception errors were their most since a five-set win over Saint Xavier on February 22, 2023.

Goshen faces IU-East and Wabash in Crawfordsville, Indiana, on Saturday, January 25. The first match is at 1:00 pm and the next is at 5:00 pm.