DEARBORN, Mich. – The 20th-ranked Madonna University volleyball team was tested in the first match of the day, a five-set thriller against Goshen College, before they wrapped up the UM-Dearborn Early Bird Classic with a sweep of Point Park University at the UM-Dearborn Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.

MATCH ONE: No. 20 Madonna (4-0) 3, Goshen (4-4) 2 (25-19, 24-26, 25-12, 22-25, 18-16)

• Set one

  • Lauren Powers served five straight points early in the match to open an 8-3 lead and MU rolled to a 25-19 set win. The Crusaders never let the Maple Leafs get in rhythm in the opener.

• Set Two

  • Goshen didn't back down and came out strong in set two as the Crusaders found themselves down 8-3 early. Madonna fought back and tied the game eight times. Ryleigh Jacobs stepped to the service line trailing 12-8 and served five points, which included an ace, to take the lead, 13-12. Madonna miscues were the story down the stretch. A Nicole Chestnut kill followed a pair from Ryan Castle made it 22-19, but the Maple Leafs took advantage of four MU errors in the final nine points to take a 26-24 win and even the match.

• Set Three

  • The Crusaders wrestled back momentum and dominated the second set as they scored the first four points before Olivia Sweeney served eight straight points, highlighted by a pair of aces, to make it 13-2. From there, Madonna received timely side-outs to take a 2-1 lead with a 25-12 win.

• Set Four

  • Game four saw seven ties in the first 26 points as the teams traded side-outs, that is until a 6-2 scoring run by the Maple Leafs gave the Indiana program a 19-15 lead. Jodie Kelly got the Crusaders within one, 23-22, but a GC kill and MU attack error sent the match to a decisive fifth set.

• Set Five

  • MU seemed to have control early as the Blue and Gold scored the first three points, but the set turned into another back-and-forth battle that saw eight ties in just 34 points. Back-to-back kills from LaBaere and Taylor Suurmeyer gave the Crusaders match point, but three kills for the other side quickly gave GC the advantage. The teams again traded points until Kelly broke a tie at 16 with a kill and Nyla Greer slammed home the 18-16 winner.

MATCH TWO: No. 20 Madonna (5-0) 3, Point Park (1-3) 0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-22)

• Set one

  • The Pioneers led early, 4-2, but the Crusaders quickly pulled away. MU scored four straight points behind Lauren Powers' service and then broke a tie at 9 with a LaBaere kill. A Korth kill put Sweeney back at the service stripe where she served up seven points, highlighted by three Kelly kills, to make it 19-10 and all but secure the 25-20 win.

• Set Two

  • Yogi Hang got the party started in set two as the sophomore served the first eight points, which included a pair of aces. In all, MU scored 13 of the first 15 points and led 20-5 on a Jacobs kill en route to a 25-13 win.

• Set Three

  • The Crusaders relaxed a bit too much to begin the final game as the Pioneers lead early and battled back from down five to tie the game at 16. A Korth kill and a Sweeney ace put the Blue and Gold in front, but PPU continued to fight and tied the score once more at 22, but a pair of LaBaere kills and a block sent MU to 5-0.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• MATCH ONE

  • The Crusaders finished with a .213 attack percentage while Goshen hit .126

  • MU had 70 kills to GCs 46 while the Maple Leafs tallied 14 aces to the Crusaders' nine

  • Kelly earned Player of the Game honors with 15 digs, a .297 attack percentage, four assists, one ace, 19 digs and a block

  • Suurmeyer led the team with 16 kills while Korth (12), Greer (10) and LaBaere (10) also finished in double figures

  • LaBaere had a team-best three blocks while four players (Korth, Alyssa Facione, Dawson and Sweeney) finished with double digit digs

  • Korth had a team-best 38 assists while Dawson added 12

• MATCH TWO

  • Madonna was dominant at the net as they hit .237 and held the Pioneers to a .028 mark

  • The Crusaders collected seven blocks and 46 digs in the win

  • Korth led the offense with eight kills and 17 assists to go with seven digs and three blocks

  • Dawson, who earned Player of the Game honors, added 16 assists, 10 digs and two blocks

  • Greer added four blocks to go with four kills and a .400 attack percentage

MILESTONES TO WATCH

• Head Coach Jerry Abraham continues his pursuit of 1,200 career wins and needs just 15 more.

• Korth is currently ninth on the all-time assists list with 3,426 in her career.

UP NEXT

• With the new round-robin conference slate, the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference season begins earlier than ever as the Crusaders travel to Adrian, Mich. on Wednesday, Sept. 5 to face Siena Heights University at 7 p.m.

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