Defiance Falls to No. 21 MSJ in Clash for HCAC Top Spot
DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance hosted Mount St. Joseph on Saturday morning inside of the Karl H. Weaner Community Center with sole-possession of first place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference up for grabs.
DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance hosted Mount St. Joseph on Saturday morning inside of the Karl H. Weaner Community Center with sole-possession of first place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference up for grabs. The Jackets started fast against the No. 21 Lions, but could not finish off the upset and lost 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-20.
The Yellow Jackets featured a hard-hitting attack against the Mount, as Kristen Nicely, Danyel Lipps and Sara Porter all ended with double-digit kills. DC hit .262 in the defeat and was nearly flawless in the opening-game win, collecting 20 kills in 39 swings for a .436 clip.
The two teams battled to a 9-9 tie in the first game, before a MSJ attack error and consecutive kills from Nicely opened up a 12-9 advantage for Defiance. The Lions quickly answered with a 5-1 rally to take a 14-13 edge but Porter earned three of the next four points with kills and the Jackets reclaimed the 18-14 lead. Defiance maintained control throughout the remainder of the game, building a lead as large as 23-17, before finishing the 25-22 victory.
The second set started similar to the first, with the two sides fighting to a 10-10 draw before a quick spurt from the Lions opened up a 14-10 lead. DC fought back to knot the score at 17-17 but could not get over the hump. MSJ's Jamie Grauvogel then provided the momentum changer with a string of three-straight aces to take the 21-17 edge. DC would rally for the next two points, but a kill from Katie Playko stopped the spurt and sent the Mount to the 25-22 win.
With the match knotted at one game each, Defiance and Mount St. Joseph went toe to toe once again in the third and locked up for an 11-11 tie midway through. DC seemingly took control of the action with back-to-back kills from Nicely and Porter to build an 18-13 advantage. The lead would not last, as the highly-touted Lions charged back with the game's next five points and eventually took the win, 25-21, behind a 12-3 rally to close the game.
MSJ then finished the match victory by breaking open a 12-12 tie in the fourth and final game with a 5-0 run. The Lions never looked back and sealed the 25-20 victory.
Nicely, Porter and Lipps paced the DC attack with 40-of-54 kills for the Jackets. Kelsey Ferguson ran the offense with 44 assists and also chipped in 11 digs.
Defiance (10-9, 2-1 HCAC) will have a week off before playing a pair of matches on Oct. 11 at Otterbein. The Jackets will play Otterbein at 2:00 pm, before going up against Columbus State at 4:00 pm.