Defiance Sweeps Manchester in Purple for a Purpose Game

DEFIANCE, OHIO – The Defiance College Yellow Jackets upped their Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference mark to 4-2 on the year with a three-set win over Manchester (Ind.) University on Wednesday night.

DC (9-10, 4-2 HCAC) scored seven straight points off the serve of Madison Hollis (Burlington, Ky./Randall K. Cooper) to get off to a quick 10-3 edge in the opening set. The DC lead hovered between six and eight points until late, when the Spartans (11-9, 2-5 HCAC) scored five in a row to get to within two points at 23-21. A key kill by freshman Morgan Porter (Defiance) made it match point, before a block by Porter and Emma Seitz (Toledo/Central Catholic) gave DC a 25-21 set one victory.

Set two saw the Spartans jump to a 14-8 lead to start. DC got to within three points on a kill by Brooke Plummer (Plain City/Jonathan Alder) to make the score 14-11. Trailing 17-13, a pair of spikes by Seitz, along with kills by Robbins and Jenni Davis (Delta) tied the set at 17-17. The Spartans held a 20-19 edge, but another kill by Seitz, a bad set, and a Sydney Unger (Frankfort, Ind./Clinton Central) put Defiance up, 22-20. After a Manchester point, Marissa Windau (Castalia/Margaretta) and Plummer got back-to-back kills and the teams exchanged service errors to wrap up the set, giving Defiance a 25-22 win in set two.

Manchester led 7-4 early in the third, but Unger's serving put DC in front, 9-7. Manchester gained an 11-9 lead back, but a Seitz spike and a pair of errors put DC right back in front. Manchester tied it back up with a kill by Emma DeWitt, but DC scored three consecutive points to take the lead, 15-12. The Yellow Jackets' lead remained at three points, 19-16, before the Yellow Jackets all but sealed the match with four straight points, giving Defiance a 23-16 lead, which they held on to for a 25-19 set three win and a sweep of the Spartans.

The Defiance offense was led by Plummer, who finished the day with 11 kills on 19 attempts for an impressive .526 hitting percentage. Windau also added 10 kills, while Seitz finished with eight. Hollis wrapped up the night with a team-high 25 assists. Defensively, Jaidyn Patridge (Toledo/Springfield) added to her dig total with 31 pickups in the victory, while Windau finished with 11 digs.

Defiance will return to HCAC play on Saturday, Oct. 21 as they travel to Lexington, Ky. to take on the Transylvania University Pioneers. Match time is set for 2 p.m.