Jackets best Lourdes, secure spot in WHAC Tournament

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance Yellow Jackets clinched a postseason berth with a scrappy 3-1 over the Lourdes Gray Wolves on Wednesday night at the Karl H. Weaner Center. 

The Yellow Jackets (11-21, 5-12 WHAC) knocked out the Gray Wolves (5-25, 2-15 WHAC) chance of the postseason and settled the final spot in the WHAC Tournament with set scores of 25-16, 25-18, 21-25, 25-23. This marked the first time the Yellow Jackets reached the postseason since 2019.

The Yellow Jackets managed to jump out to an early 2-0 set lead off the back of some stellar efficiency. Through the first two sets, the Yellow Jackets only had six hitting errors while racking up 27 total kills. The first set remained close until the Yellow Jackets took over, going on an 8-1 run late to help pull away with the 25-16 win. The second set started off hot again for the Jackets as they quickly went on a 7-1 run off the back of four aces, three by Shelby Clements. They played even the rest of the set to secure a steady 25-18 win. 

Lourdes did not roll over and rallied from down 13-8 in the third set on a 9-0 run for their first lead of the match. Defiance tried to mount a comeback but could not do so as Lourdes extended the match with a 25-21 win. 

THE TURNING POINT
The fourth set started with the Yellow Jackets grabbing a quick 5-0 lead, maintaining that until the Gray Wolves rattled off a 9-1 run to lead 17-14. With the two teams battling and the Yellow Jackets trailing 22-18, the Yellow Jackets had a clutch four-point burst off of Gabby Rodriguez's kill and an ace followed by a Jaelyn Tomoletz block then a killy by Chaney Brodbeck. With this momentum, the Yellow Jackets close out the match with a slam by Jamia Murry and a match-clinching ace by Shelby Clements.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• DC volleyball becomes the first program to clinch a postseason berth since becoming a member of the NAIA and WHAC
• The entrance to the WHAC Tournament is the program's first conference tournament berth since 2019.
• Head coach Jeremy Thornburg joins Deb Sazama (2000), David Kwan (2003) and Brie Brenner (2012) as recent DC volleyball coaches to reach the conference tournament in their first season at Defiance.
• Amina Chamoun reached 500 assists for the season, going all the way to 506 with 18 assists on the night.
• The Yellow Jackets relied on three primary hitters as Gabby Rodriguez had 14 kills, followed by Jamia Murray and Chaney Brodbeck knocking down 13 each. The three combined for 40 of 47 kills for the Jackets.
• Shelby Clements had six aces tonight including one to ice the game. Brodbeck also notched four of her own. 
• Defiance also converted 12 blocks as a team led by Jaelyn Tomoletz with 10, six of which were solo.
• The Yellow Jackets early efficiency was crucial as they committed only 19 errors in the match compared to the Greyhounds 25

UP NEXT
Defiance wraps up the regular season at home on Friday with a Senior Night matchup against the Siena Heights Saints. First serve the Karl H. Weaner Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Written by Logan Kunkel

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