MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Mount Vernon Nazarene edged Goshen 3-2 on Tuesday night at Ariel Arena, slipping past the Maple Leafs in a back-and-forth match decided by the narrowest of margins. The Cougars won 25-20, 18-25, 26-24, 20-25, 20-18 - their second five-set win over the Maple Leafs this season.

Goshen answered every push for most of the evening. After dropping the opening set, the Maple Leafs responded with a strong second set and leveled the match at 1-1 when Bruno Barac finished the frame with a kill in a 25-18 win. The third set was the tightest one yet, with both sides trading points before MVNU claimed a 26-24 victory for a 2-1 lead.

The Maple Leafs refused to let the match end in four. Goshen took the fourth set 25-20 to force a fifth. That sent the match into a decisive set that Goshen led most of the way. Goshen had two match points at 14-13 and 15-14 that the Cougars were able to recover from. The Leafs answered after the home team had their own match points at 16-15, 17-16 and 18-17. Mount Vernon Nazarene closed the match at 20-18 with a final kill. The Cougars are now 6-8 in the WHAC and the Maple Leafs are 5-10.

Ben Koop led Goshen offensively with 17 kills and added 12 digs for a double-double. Ryan Kabrich gave the Maple Leafs another efficient option, finishing with 13 kills on a .429 hitting percentage, along with four blocks. Setter Nash Hubick directed the attack with 56 assists, an ace and seven digs as Goshen piled up 70 kills and hit .253 as a team. Bruno Barac had 15 digs and three block assists.

Goshen held advantages in several key statistical categories, including kills (70-62), assists (67-60) and digs (65-56), while also matching the intensity at the net with nine team blocks. Mount Vernon Nazarene countered with 11 total blocks and made enough plays to survive.

GC competes at home for the first time since February 28 with a match against Trinity Christian at 1:00 pm on April 4. The match was moved up two hours after originally being scheduled for 3:00 pm.