ADRIAN, Mich. - At the Merillat Sport and Fitness Center, the Adrian men's volleyball team and their opponent, Goshen College got off to a thrilling start on Tuesday evening. In the end, however, it was the visiting Maple Leafs utilizing a strong attack to defeat the Bulldogs in straight-sets.
Despite a 6-0 edge in service aces, the black and gold fell short to their opposition 41-35 in total kills, including a 22-13 margin over the contest's final two sets.
The evening's first frame was full of heart-pounding action right off the opening serve, as the home side raced out to a 3-0 lead behind a
Branden Gula kill and back-to-back aces by
Brandon Ravelo.
As Goshen began to find its footing, it eventually pulled itself level with a 9-6 run, only for the Bulldogs to respond with five of the next six points to move ahead 14-10.
The Leafs did not shy away, nevertheless, battling back from a series of multi-point deficits to slowly trim away at the local's lead, resulting in a 25-25 tie.
From there, the two sides traded punches, giving everything they could to get a leg up in the match. The 'Dogs at one point muscled in front 29-28, but Goshen remained persistent, out-scoring Adrian 6-3 in the closing moments to take the opening set, 34-32.
After another back-and-forth start to the middle set, the Maple Leafs settled in and took control, rattling off a 14-3 run to seal a 25-11 set victory.
In the final frame, a late push by the road team after tying the score at 15-15 helped them ice the match and complete the sweep.
Chase Heuer led Adrian with 11 kills, and Ravelo finished with 33 assists. Defensively, Heuer also turned in a team-high six digs, followed by
Tedrick Gula and
Andrew Gawrisch with four each.
The Bulldogs (5-15, 2-2 MCVL) are now set to begin a four-game road trip, starting at Siena Heights on Friday at 7 p.m.
