GOSHEN, Ind. - Women's volleyball welcomed Bethel University to the Ruth Gunden Gymnasium. The Maple Leafs pushed the Pilots in each set, before ultimately falling in four. They lost 19-25, 23-25, 25-21, 20-25.
In the first set Bethel got out to a 4-0 run, before Goshen answered with four of their own, which was ultimately their only run of more than two of the set. The game was then tied at six, before the Pilots built a small lead which the Leafs couldn't quite breach. A 5-1 Pilots run put the score at 15-10 and they didn't look back, maintaining that gap and winning the set 25-19.
A service ace by Carmin Corey alongside kills from Armani Guidry-Austin, Ava Schneider and Railynn Bowman gave the Leafs an 8-5 advantage to start set two. The set then hung in the balance, with the score being tied at eight, nine, 11, 13, 14, and 18, before Bethel pulled a gap with a score of 23-20. A kill by Bowman and an attack error brought them to within one. The Pilots had set point at 24-22, before a kill from Sami Lard put the Leafs within striking distance. A kill from Pilots' Alex Brown gave the Pilots the second set, winning 25-23.
Kills from Corey, Lard and a service ace from Mary Osten gave Goshen a slight advantage to start the third set. Bethel then took control, putting up six unanswered to lead 9-4. The Leafs then went on a 6-1 run of their own through kills from Schneider, Guidry-Austin and a series of Bethel errors. A kill and a service ace from Corey gave the Leafs a two point cushion with the score sitting at 15-13, before momentum in the set began to swing again, with the score being tied at 20 and 21, before a run fuelled by a kill and two aces by Bri Morris as well as a Bethel attack error gave Goshen a foothold in the contest as they took the set 25-21.
Goshen went on a 3-1 run to start the fourth set, before the Pilots went on a 4-0 run to lead 5-3. The set was tied at 10 and again at 16, 17 and 18, before a 7-1 Pilots run gave them the set 25-20 and ultimately the match 3-1.
Corey and Bowman recorded 14 kills apiece, which for Corey is a career high, bettering her previous best of 12, which she has recorded three times. Corey (5) and Osten (3) both set career highs in aces. Morris recorded her fourth double-double of the season.
The Maple Leafs are back in action when they travel to take on the Huntington University Foresters on Wednesday ,Oct. 21. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
