Beavers Sweep Yellow Jackets

DEFIANCE, OHIO -- The Defiance College Yellow Jackets were beaten in straight sets by the Bluffton University Beavers, falling 25-17, 30-28, 25-18 in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference match at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

The Yellow Jackets (5-10, 1-1) trailed by two, 11-9, in the first set before the Beavers (14-7, 2-0) rattled off seven straight points to take a commanding 18-9 advantage. DC would get no closer than seven points before falling 25-17 in the opening set.

The second set became a see-saw battle with Bluffton taking an early 10-5 lead. The Bluffton lead remained steady, as they led 24-21 and looked to be headed to another victory. But DC came storming back, scoring four straight points, including kills from senior Ari Mahaffey (Porter, Ind./Chesterton) and junior Meredith Shank (Maumee/Springfield) to take a 25-24 edge. DC saw set point on three different occasions, but Bluffton scored the final three points to take the set, 30-28.

The Beavers rolled the momentum into set number three, taking a quick 9-4 lead and never looking back, as Bluffton led by no less than four points and got as high as nine points late in the set.  Bluffton went on to take the set, 25-18, and the overall match by the final of 3-0. 

The key stat of the match came on the attack, the Yellow Jackets finished with 34 kills, but 19 errors and finished with a .106 attack percentage, while the Beavers added 50 spikes on just 16 errors for a .231 percentage.

Defiance's attack was led by sophomore Brooke Plummer (Plain City/Jonathan Alder) with eight kills on the evening and a .269 percentage. Mahaffey had a team-high 30 assists and also had three kills in six attempts. 

Senior libero Makayla Dennis (Bryan) led the defensive charge for DC with 23 digs. The duo of Mahaffey and junior Jaidyn Patridge (Toledo/Springfield) both added 10 digs to finish second on the team. At the net, sophomore Marissa Windau (Castalia/Margaretta) had three block assists to lead the Yellow Jacket blockers.    

Defiance returns to action with another home conference matchup, this time with the Transylvania (Ky.) University Pioneers on Friday, Oct. 7. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Weaner Center.