Alumni News: The Court Is Now In Session

[Editor's note: This is a column that will keep an eye on ex-Bruins playing athletics at a collegiate level. I hope that this column will appear weekly and have a snappy title; we shall see if either of those happen.]

With five matches (all at home) in the past week, the Goshen College volleyball team has had plenty of chances to rack up statistics, especially given that four were straight-set wins. The lone Bethany alumna in Goshen's starting lineup, Hannah Grieser '09, did just that, tallying 27 kills, 10 aces, and 10 digs. Grieser, one of seven Maple Leafs to appear in all 27 of the team's sets this year, ranks fourth in kills and third in aces for the season.

Mandy Schlabach '11 appeared in three of the five matches, recording a single kill (for a 1.000 hitting percentage!) and six digs in the last week. Lexi Kantz '10 played briefly in the Purdue-Calumet match Thursday, scoring a dig and being charged with a reception error. I would have to check the play-by-play, but I think Kantz and Schlabach were on the court simultaneously for a point or two.

Remaining on the courts at Goshen but changing sports, the women's tennis team lost to Indiana Wesleyan at the GC tennis facility Tuesday. Maria Thomas '12 is listed on the roster but did not play; Corine Alvarez '10 dropped an exhibition match to the Wildcats' Diana Jones.

In the final Goshen sport update, the men's soccer team opened its season Wednesday with a 4-1 loss at Siena Heights (Mich.) Joel Yoder '11 was in the starting lineup for the Maple Leafs, while Aaron Stiffney '11 played 46 minutes off the bench. Neither player appeared in the statistical columns of the box score.

Finally, we end this week where we began last week: Indiana University men's soccer. The Hoosiers, who are ranked No. 8 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, swept a pair of matches at the Saint Louis Billiken Invitational last week, defeating the hosts 2-1 on Friday and Cincinnati 3-0 on Sunday. Femi Hollinger-Janzen '12 appeared in both matches, earning a shot on goal in the latter contest. His appearance in the former game made him the second Bruin to appear in an NCAA Division I soccer game; Jesse Ramer '10, playing for Western Michigan, was the first in 2010. A pair of softball players have also competed at the D-1 level.

Jenae Hershberger '11 (Hesston (Kan.) women's cross country) and Sharisse Yoder '11 (Marian women's soccer) are both on teams that played in scrimmages this week; by national association rules, no statistics are kept for these events.

All times are Eastern. Broadcasts are in italics and separated by semicolons.

Thursday, Aug. 30
Men's tennis: Goshen at Indiana Wesleyan, 4 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 31
Volleyball: Eastern Mennonite vs. Carlow (Pa.) at Latrobe, Pa., 5 p.m.
Men's soccer: Bluffton at Andrews (Mich.), 5:30 p.m.
Women's soccer: Goshen vs. Viterbo (Wis.) at Milwaukee, 6 p.m.
Men's soccer: Clemson (S.C.) at Indiana, 7:30 p.m. (IUHoosiers.com)
Volleyball: Eastern Mennonite at St. Vincent (Pa.), 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 1
Volleyball: Eastern Mennonite vs. Muskingum (Ohio) at Latrobe, Pa., 9 a.m.
Women's cross country: Goshen hosts Hokum Karem, 10:30 a.m.
Women's tennis: Goshen at Marian, 11 a.m.
Women's cross country: Hesston at Wichita (Kan.) State Gold Classic, 11 a.m.
Men's cross country: Goshen hosts Hokum Karem, 11:30 a.m.
Volleyball: Eastern Mennonite vs. Allegheny (Pa.) at Latrobe, Pa., 9 a.m.
Women's soccer: Benedictine (Ill.) at Marian, 2 p.m. (MUKnights.com)
Men's soccer: Eastern Mennonite vs. Marymount (Va.) at Fredericksburg, Va., 3:30 p.m.
Men's soccer: Purdue-Calumet at Goshen, 7 p.m. (91.1 The Globe)

Sunday, Sun. 2
Women's soccer: Aquinas (Mich.) at Marian, 1 p.m. (MUKnights.com)
Men's soccer: Eastern Mennonite at Mary Washington (Va.), 1 p.m. (UMWEagles.com)
Men's soccer: San Diego (Calif.) State at Indiana, 2 p.m. (Big Ten Digital Network)


Monday, Sept. 3
Women's soccer: Goshen vs. William Penn (Iowa) at Milwaukee, Wis., 2 p.m.
Women's tennis: Goshen at Marian, 4 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 4
Men's tennis: St. Francis at Goshen, 4 p.m.
Women's tennis: St. Francis at Goshen, 4 p.m.
Men's soccer: Bluffton at Cincinnati Christian (Ohio), 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 5
Volleyball: Eastern Mennonite at McDaniel (Md.), 6:30 p.m. (McDanielAthletics.TV)
Men's soccer: Cairn (Pa.) at Eastern Mennonite, 7 p.m.
Volleyball: Goshen at Taylor, 7 p.m. (Athletics.Taylor.edu)