PARKVILLE, Mo. - Men's volleyball lost a match in three sets and then won another in three on the first of two days at the 2025 Pirate Invitational in Parkville, Missouri. Morningside beat Goshen in the first match 25-21, 25-18, 25-22. Later, Goshen won their second match against Kansas Wesleyan 27-25, 25-14, 26-14.

The matches were played at the Breckon Sports Center, a monolithic dome with hallways that lead to Park University's underground campus - one of the largest underground campuses in the world.

Goshen vs Morningside
When the teams were tied 14-14 in the first set, Morningside went on a 5-0 run to go up 19-14. Goshen pulled back within two but lost the set by four. There were seven ties in the first set. The Leafs started on a 5-1 run in the second set and led 15-11 at one point. But then, the Mustangs went on another 5-0 run to take the lead. Goshen tied it once, but never got out in front again, losing the set by seven.

Goshen's largest lead of the match came when they were up seven in the third set at 17-10. However, Morningside ended the match on a 15-5 run to win 3-0.

The Mustangs had 12 more kills than the Maple Leafs, 41-29. Goshen had twice as many blocks - winning that category 8-4. Bruno Barac had four solo blocks and a block assist in addition to his seven kills and eight digs. Ishmail Bangura had ten kills and a .300 hitting percentage and Ben Koop had ten digs. Igor Sapucaia had eight assists in the first set as setter and Avery Laforce took over the duties for the next two sets, providing 17 assists.

Goshen vs Kansas Wesleyan
GC quickly took a 9-2 lead in the first set, capitalizing on errors made by the Coyotes early on. KWU took a lead at 22-21 after an ace from Jeremy Lapeze but the Leafs responded with three straight points to get to set point. The Coyotes scored two in a row to tie it up, and then a kill from each team tied it at 25 apiece. Kansas Wesleyan had a service error on the next play, and then Pablo Sanchez ended the set with an ace to put the Leafs on top 27-25.

Game two was close in the first half, but then it was all Goshen. The Maple Leafs were only up 14-13 when they went on a 9-0 run with Bruno Barac serving. During that stretch, Barac had six aces. The Coyotes scored once to end the spree, but then a kill by Ben Koop followed by an Alessandro Olgiati ace ended the set with Goshen winning 25-14.

The third set had eight ties, and KWU was a point away from forcing a fourth set when they led 24-23. However, a kill by Olgiati from Laforce kept Goshen alive in the set, and they sealed the deal by winning the next two points as well. Goshen is now 2-0 all-time against Kansas Wesleyan. The Leafs won in four sets in March 2022 at a neutral site in Oskaloosa, Iowa for the William Penn Invite.

Barac finished the match with 14 kills and seven aces. He had nine aces across the 95 sets he played last season. Tonight, he had six of his seven aces in one set alone. Barac also contributed four block assists and four digs. Koop had ten kills and five digs and Olgiati led all Maple Leafs with six digs. Laforce came up with 28 assists across the three sets.

Goshen plays the host, #6 Park, on Saturday at 1:00 pm EST. They conclude the invitational later that day against Ottawa at 5:00 pm EST.