COLUMBIA, Ky. - Women's volleyball earned their first win of the season, taking down Spartanburg Methodist College in four sets, 17-25, 25-22, 28-26, 25-16. The second match went to five sets, but Loyola University New Orleans came out on top 25-22, 21-25, 18-25, 25-14, 15-8.

Goshen vs Spartanburg Methodist
Goshen had 12 attack errors in the first set, but they only had 13 in the next three sets combined. The Pioneers went up 10-3 early and ended up winning the set by eight points. But after a -.045 hitting percentage in the first set, the Maple Leafs improved it to .314 in the second and totaled 21 kills in the third.

The Leafs also had strong finishes to the second and third sets. The squads were tied 22-22 in the second when the Leafs took the last three points in the form of a Neveah Benjamin kill, a Kelsie Hankins ace and another kill from Addison Ross. SMC was up 24-22 in the third when Goshen head coach Jeff Phillips used a timeout and the Leafs won the next two points. Benjamin had a kill to end the set and the Leafs won 28-26.

The fourth set was the most dominant, as Goshen went off for 14 kills and just one attack error, with a hitting percentage of .565. They broke a 13-13 tie by scoring 12 of the final 15 points. Sami Lard had 14 kills in her entire 2024 season, but had 15 in this match alone. Her season total through the end of Saturday is already at 34. Also with double-digit kills for Goshen were Addison Ross and Neveah Benjamin. Armani Guidry-Austin had nine and Sydney Stutsman had seven with no attack errors. Stutsman had 30 assists and 15 digs, Kelsie Hankins added 19 assists and four aces and Alaina Wolfe led the team with 18 digs. Goshen outperformed SMC in kills (60-39), assists (58-35), digs (73-55) and aces (9-7).

Goshen vs Loyola University New Orleans
Goshen took Loyola New Orleans to five but it wasn't quite enough. The Wolf Pack led 15-4 in the first set but Goshen came back to within one on a few occasions before losing the set. However, GC took that momentum and used it to win the second set by four and the third set by seven. From being down 15-4 in the first to the end of the third set, the Leafs outscored their opponent 68-49.

In the fourth, Loyola New Orleand scored five of the first six points and went on to win by 11. The tides had officially turned in their favor when they nearly doubled Goshen's score in the fifth set.

Goshen's biggest strength was the 13 aces by the team, their most since putting up 14 exactly one year ago against Governors State. Brenna Spangler had four, Kassidy Faler and Jessie Price each had three, Kelsie Hankins had two and Sydney Stutsman added one. Armani Guidry-Austin had four block assists and Carmin Corey had three. They both had a solo block. Addison Ross, Sami Lard and Nevaeh Benjamin had 10+ kills each. Stutsman had 21 assists and Hankins had 12.

Goshen's next match is the home opener on Tuesday, August 19, against IU-Northwest at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the match are $7 for adults and $5 for seniors/K-12 students. GC employees and students are free. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket booth before the match or online at this link.