DC volleyball splits for second-straight weekend

GREENCASTLE, Ind. – The Lady Jackets volleyball squad defeated the Wooster Fighting Scots in straight sets and then was shutout 3-0 by the DePauw Tigers on Saturday, September 28. Defiance moves to 11-5, the Scots drop to 5-13 and the host Tigers improve to 15-1.

In the 2 o'clock matchup with Wooster, DC had to pull out all the stops in the first set, as it scathed by with a 25-23 victory. Things then got easier for the Jackets, as they cruised to a pair of 25-14 wins in sets two and three. The match victory snapped a three-game losing streak to the Scots.

Senior Chelsea Ludeman (Napoleon, Ohio / HS) was on fire for the match, as she lit up the stat sheet with 16 kills on an incredible .652 attack percentage. The outside hitter also helped out in other areas, as she added eight digs and two total blocks.

Other solid performances came from juniors Bree Anderson (Huntertown, Ind. / Carroll) and Alicia Kalik (South Lyon, Michigan / HS).  In what was one of her more efficient matches on the season, Anderson notched seven kills without a single error. Kalik was her usual self, as she racked up 37 assists, four digs, and a team leading three aces.

On a side note, senior Christa Seidenstricker (Plain City, Ohio / Jonathan Alder) added five digs in the match and moved her over 600 for her career.

The Purple and Gold did not fare as well in the second contest of the afternoon, as it got right back on the court to take on the one-loss DePauw Tigers. DC struggled early, dropping set one 25-14. The team regrouped and played much better in the final two matches, but still came up short 25-22 and 25-20.

Anderson led Defiance in both kills and digs with 11 of each. Ludeman added 10 kills and Kalik racked up 37 assists.

Next up for the Lady Jackets volleyball team is the beginning of the conference slate, as it will be home Saturday, October 5 to take on the Mount St. Joseph Lions and Trine Thunder. DC's first contest in the tri-match will be Mount at 1 pm and then it will play the Thunder at 5 pm.