BY: Bryce Marsee, contributor
Published: Sept. 7, 2012
The No. 17 Taylor volleyball team kicked off conference play Sept. 5 with a win against conference foe Goshen, sweeping the Maple Leafs 25-23, 25-17 and 25-23. With the win, the Trojans improved to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
Freshman Casey Allen led the Trojan attack with nine kills to go along with a team-high six blocks.
Senior Elizabeth Luke and junior Montana Ashline chipped in eight kills apiece, while junior Ashlyn DeHoogh added seven.
Freshmen Olivia Griffith and Julia Willey split time at the setter position, dishing out 21 and 16 assists, respectively.
"The upperclassmen have been pushing us really hard to get that confidence we need," Griffith said. "Julia and I work together to push ourselves even further on the court, which has really been helping."
Both teams started the first set strong, swapping points early. With the teams tied at 13, Goshen was able to spark a 9-4 run. Down 22-17, The Trojans struck back, finishing the game on an 8-1 run.
Senior Ali Swart recorded three kills during the run, which forced two Goshen timeouts.
"We were playing at their tempo and we were playing at the same pace," Head Coach Brittany Smith said. "We just needed to play at a tempo we were a little more comfortable with and just bring the intensity."
In the second set, the Trojans came out with more intensity and proved too much for Goshen to handle after attacking at .500 with 14 kills on 24 attempts, with Luke and Ashline combining for eight of those kills.
Taylor finished the match by winning the third set, but not after a late run by Goshen. The Trojans jumped out to an early lead after an explosive start by DeHoogh, who tallied four kills in the first seven Trojan points.
After a Goshen time out, Taylor continued to extend the lead to as many as nine when they took an 18-9 lead. Goshen was able to mount a 14-6 run to bring the Trojan lead to within one before Allen finished the game off with a kill from Griffith.
With the loss, Goshen fell to 4-6 on the year and 0-1 in conference play.
Earlier this week, senior Courtney Herschberger moved into second on the all-time Taylor career digs list, surpassing Emily Dye and Coach Smith. Herschberger currently totals 2,282 career digs and trails only Rachel Malinsky by 392 digs.
After losing three key seniors from last year's team, Herschberger will be one of four seniors to step into lead roles for a Trojan team with seven newcomers.
"This team is full of hard workers," Herschberger said. "That's one thing we know we'll always have: hard work and good effort, a lot of energy and enthusiasm every game, even if things aren't going our way."
The Trojans will be back in action at 7 p.m. Sept. 7 as they head to Fort Wayne to take on conference opponent Saint Francis.
