GOSHEN, Ind. – The Spring Arbor University women's volleyball team closed the regular season with a 3-1 victory over Goshen College on Wednesday night, highlighted by career milestones for
Keely Hinzman and
Camy Wedge.
The Cougars won 25-9, 25-14, 23-25, 25-9 to improve to 19-10 overall and 11-7 in the Crossroads League. SAU finished fourth in the conference standings and will host a conference tournament match for the first time since 2009 when Mount Vernon Nazarene University visits Saturday for the quarterfinals.
Hinzman recorded nine blocks to surpass 500 for her career, finishing the night with 504. She also contributed nine kills on a .583 hitting percentage.
Wedge collected 16 assists and eight digs, pushing her career assist total to 2,404. She moved past Annica Stotz into second place in SAU's career records since the adoption of 25-point rally scoring in 2008.
Isabelle Kirkendall led the offense with 14 kills while hitting .379 and added seven digs.
Natasha Bickel contributed eight kills and eight block assists, while
Iyla Weeks finished with six kills.
Alexis Remtema recorded seven blocks, and
Sophia DeVlieger added six block assists as the Cougars totaled 16 blocks.
Palmer Fortress led the back row with 14 digs, and
Gabby Bryja supplied nine assists.
Spring Arbor established control early, using a six-point run to build an 11-3 lead in the opening set. The Cougars hit .385 and closed with six unanswered points to take the set 25-9.
SAU maintained its advantage in the second, hitting .333 and scoring the final four points for a 25-14 victory.
Goshen extended the match by taking a closely contested third set, but Spring Arbor responded in the fourth. An eight-point run stretched a 10-7 lead to 18-7, and the Cougars finished with another 25-9 win to secure their third consecutive victory.
Spring Arbor hit .320 for the match while holding Goshen to a negative .032 mark. The Cougars finished with advantages in kills (45-31), digs (51-38) and blocks (16-7).
SAU will return to McDonald Athletic Center to begin postseason play against Mount Vernon Nazarene on Saturday, Nov. 7.
