Yellow Jackets fall short in road games at Mount St. Joseph

CINCINNATI, Ohio-  On Saturday afternoon, the Yellow Jacket women's volleyball team traveled to Mount St. Joseph University. In the first match, counting toward Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings, Defiance fell in straight sets by a score of 3-0 (19-25, 19-25, 15-25). The second non-conference match went to Mount St. Joseph by a score of 3-1 (13-25, 20-25, 25-22, 21-25). 

In the HCAC match, Defiance registered 30 kills and 16 errors in 110 attempts for a .127 hitting percentage, compared to 48, 9, 112, and .348, respectively, for the hosts. The Lions tallied 59 digs, and the Yellow Jackets recorded 51 for the match. Each team finished with two service aces, while Mount St. Joseph committed ten service errors to seven for Defiance.  

Once again, Mackenzie Benham led the Defiance offense with ten kills and added seven digs. Morgan Porter, Tre'Ana King, and Alexis Kiessling each recorded 13 digs. Brianna Wheeler dished out a team-high 23 assist while adding one kill and once service ace. 

In the non-conference match today, Mount St. Joseph used the momentum from the first game to take sets one and two, but not before the Yellow Jackets fought back. Defiance took a competitive third set but fell short in the fourth by a three-point deficit. 

Riley Davis led the Yellow Jacket attack in game two, recording 17 kills in 32 attempts for a 0.406 hitting percentage. Kenzie Duncan followed close behind with 11 kills, three digs, and one block assist. 

Defensively, Porter led with a game-high 31 digs while adding four assists and two service aces. Wheeler led Defiance with game-high 39 assists, and she also recorded two service aces and three digs.

Each team recorded 49 kills, MSJ committed 16 errors in 139 attempts for a hitting percentage of 0.237, while DC was guilty of 20 errors in 142 total attacks for a 0.204 hitting percentage. The Lions tallied 12 service aces, while the Yellow Jacket recorded eight throughout the match.

The Yellow Jackets finish the regularly scheduled season at 3-7 in HCAC play and 4-13 overall.