Lipps and Nicely Earn Spot on HCAC All-Tournament Squad

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance hitters Danyel Lipps and Kristen Nicely led the Jackets to the championship match of the 2008 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament and were each named to the HCAC All-Tournament Team. The duo joined six others on the list after leading DC to its first finals appearance since 2005.

Defiance earned the second seed for the six-team event after posting a 6-2 mark in league play during the regular season. DC then scored a 25-18, 20-25, 25-13, 25-22 victory over sixth-seeded Manchester on Saturday, before falling 25-8, 25-21, 25-18 to the top-seeded MSJ squad on Sunday afternoon.

Lipps registered 18 kills, 34 digs and two aces in the two tournament contests, including a 12-kill, 21-dig performance in DC's semifinal victory over Manchester. The double-double was the 14th of the year for Lipps, who averaged 2.6 kills and 4.9 digs per set for DC in the two tournament matches.

Nicely joined Lipps on the HCAC All-Tournament Team after logging a team-high 20 kills in the two matches to go with 10 digs and three block assists. Nicely's big performance also came in DC's win over the Spartans, where she led the Jackets with 16 kills in 42 swings.

The full list of All-Tournament performers included Lipps and Nicely of Defiance, Jess Gadberry, Caitlin Sargent and Jamie Grauvogel of MSJ, Nicole Wood of Bluffton and Amanda Dickman of Manchester.