FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Madonna University volleyball team saw its five match win streak come to an end in a 3-1 loss to Indiana University Kokomo before they bounced back with a sweep of Goshen College to complete the Liz Lykowski Memorial Classic host by Indiana Tech at the Schaefer Center with a 3-1 record.

The Crusaders, who were led by Player of the Day and All-Tournament team member Jodie Kelly, improve to 19-8 while the Cougars move to 23-4 and the Maple Leafs fall to 8-21.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• IU-Kokomo def. Madonna, 3-1 (25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 25-21)

  • It wasn't a good start to the day for the Crusaders who dropped the first five points, 7-of-8 and 13-of-16 for a 13-3 deficit. Madonna was able to string together a few rallies, but it wasn't enough as they dropped the first set of a match for the ninth time this season.

  • For just the second time in those nine contests the Blue and Gold responded with a set two win. IT wasn't easy though as the Cougars took a 6-3 and 15-12 lead before MU truly took control of the set. The Crusaders won 13 of the final 16 points for the 25-18 win. Six of the 13 points came off the right arm of Erica LaBaere while Taylor Suurmeyer added a pair, which included the set winner, and Lauren Korth added one.

  • Madonna got close several times in the third game, but each time IU-Kokomo used a multi-point rally to pull away. The Cougars scored five of the final six points to take a 2-1 match win.

  • The Crusaders continued to fight and led for the majority of game four and as late as 17-15, but Kokomo used three and four point rallies to send MU to a 2-7 record when losing the first set.

• Madonna def. Goshen, 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-17)

  • The Crusaders got off to a fast start in the final match of the day, but blew a late lead as Goshen used a 4-0 rally to turn an 18-16 MU advantage into a 20-18 deficit. A pair of LaBaere kills and a combo block by Nicole Chestnut and Suurmeyer put MU in front. Four of the next six points went to the Maple Leafs who served set point (24-23), but a Suurmeyer kill tied the game and then a Korth, Nyla Greer block assist and a Goshen attack error gave MU the set one win.

  • The teams traded sideouts early in set two before a Goshen miscue sparked an MU rally. Madonna won 11 of the next 13 points as four different players notched a kill and Betsy Cook recorded a service ace for a 16-7 advantage. Goshen fought its way back into the contest with a late 5-0 run, but a Goshen miscue, which followed a Madonna timeout, up 24-22, gave MU the 2-0 lead.

  • Any early five-point rally gave GC the 6-3 lead and they maintained that advantage until a Korth kill sent the MU setter to the service line where she tallied a pair of aces in an 8-0 run to turn a 12-10 deficit into an 18-12 lead. Another 3-0 run extended the lead and a Suurmeyer kill and Olivia Sweeney ace put a bow on the Crusaders' sweep.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• vs. IU-Kokomo

  • The Cougars outhit the Crusaders .238 (57-17-168) to .194 (55-23-165) and had more aces (6-4), blocks (9-3) and assists (56-50) while MU had one more dig than IU-Kokomo (79-78).

  • LaBaere finished with a match-high 17 kills and hit .289 while Kelly added 15 kills and 13 digs.

  • Korth chipped in six kills to go with her 36 assists and 13 digs while Alyssa Facione paced the defense with 20 digs.

  • Amber Kelly added 13 digs and Suurmeyer chipped in two blocks and eight kills.

• vs. Goshen

  • The Crusaders hit .235 (45-18-115) in the contest and held the Maples Leafs to a .153 (41-23-119) mark. MU also led in aces (5-2), assists (42-40) and digs (47-45) while Goshen had more blocks (8-3).

  • J. Kelly tallied her third 20-plus kill match of the season as she finished with 20 and hit .349 with six digs and a block.

  • LaBaere added 10 kills while Suurmeyer tallied seven and hit a team-best .455.

  • Korth netted 31 assists to go with 14 digs and six kills while Facione added 10 digs and six assists.

MILESTONES TO WATCH

• Head Coach Jerry Abraham, the all-time NAIA wins leader, sits one win shy of 1,200 in his career (1,199)

• Korth now as 4,127 career assists and sits 317 shy of Meg Paris (1995-96, 4,444) for fifth on the career list.

UP NEXT

• The Crusaders will chase program win No. 1,200 and will look to even the score with the only team to sweep them this season when they return to action on Wednesday, Oct. 17 against Cornerstone inside the MU Activities Center. The match gets underway at 7 p.m.

• Live stats and video will be available at www.mucrusaders.com/live

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