Yellow Jackets Fall in HCAC Finals

DEFIANCE, OHIO – The Yellow Jackets were not able to pullout the win as they fell to Bluffton University, 3-1, in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Finals.

Senior outside hitter Bree Anderson (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll) scored the first point for Defiance (18-12) on a kill from senior setter Alicia Kalik (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon), but trailed, 3-1.  The Yellow Jackets battled back though as Kalik served up three straight points for DC.  During her string of serves, both sophomore outside hitter Hope Neargarder (Union City/Mississinawa Valley) and freshman outside hitter Meredith Shank (Maumee/Springfield) had a kill each.  Kalik's final point came by way of an ace to help DC take its first lead 7-6.

The teams then started going back and forth, with neither team able to score more than two points. DC led late after an Anderson killed which was followed by an ace by sophomore outside hitter Ari Mahaffey (Porter, Ind./Chesterton) ace with resulted in a 21-20 lead for the Yellow Jackets.  Bluffton (23-11) found a way to grind it out though, taking a 25-23 first set win.

Offensively for DC, Shank had a strong first set with seven kills and Anderson added five kills.

In set two, a Mahaffey kill following a Bluffton error started the scoring, but Bluffton then went on a four-point run before sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Tietje (Deshler/Patrick Henry) ended the run with a kill.  A short time late, senior defensive specialist Caroline Hesterman (Fort Wayne, Ind./North Side) served up a couple points for DC that featured a kill each from Mahaffey and Anderson.  Anderson and Shank had back-to-back kills a few points later to give the Yellow Jackets an 8-6 advantage.

A short time later, Anderson and Mahaffey put down a kill each, then teamed up for a block to stretch DC's lead out to 15-12.  The two teams battled to six ties the rest of the way and neither team led by more than three points.  In the end, Kalik had a big solo block which she followed up with an assist to Shank to give DC the 25-22 second set victory.

Anderson led the way in kills in the second set with six and Shank added another five to her total.

DC's momentum carried into the start of set three.  Sophomore defensive specialist Makayla Dennis (Bryan) served four straight points for DC early which included two aces which led to a 6-1 Yellow Jacket lead.  Bluffton then went on a huge 13-3 run to gain the 14-9 lead.  Neargarder stopped the run with a kill.  Kalik and Anderson then threw a block party.  Of the next six points scored in the game, the senior duo teamed up to block for four points, getting DC back into the set as both teams were tied at 15-15.  Bluffton regained momentum by going on another big run, eventually finishing out the set 25-19.

Shank had three kills to lead DC in the third.  Neargarder and Tietje both added two kills.

The Yellow Jackets came out fighting in the fourth set as Hesterman served for five straight points to give DC the 7-3 advantage.  DC stretched the lead to 12-7 following another Dennis ace.  Bluffton slowly started to close the gap, eventually taking the lead at 15-14.  Tietje put down a kill the next point to tie things up at 15-15.  The Yellow Jackets struggled to make plays down the stretch as they eventually fell to Bluffton 25-21.

Anderson had three kills in the last set and Kalik and Mahaffey both added two kills.

Staistically overall for DC, Shank led the Yellow Jackets in the kill department on the day with 15.  Anderson added 14 while Mahaffey chipped in with eight.  Kalik surpassed the 40 assist mark for the sixth time this season with 41.  Defensively, junior defensive specialist Rebecca Kain (Orland, Ind./Prairie Heights) had a team-high 18 digs.  Freshman defensive specialist Jaidyn Patridge (Toledo/Springfield) added 11 digs, while Hesterman and Kalik both added seven digs.

As the game ended, DC was forced to say goodbye to three of its seniors.  Anderson, Hesterman, and Kalik will not be back as Yellow Jackets next season.  Anderson had a total of 826 kills in her career, including 293 this year.  She hit a career best .243% this season.  Hesterman had 506 digs in her career.  She averaged nearly two digs a set for her career.  Kalik leaves a legacy behind.  She is the all-time leader in assists with 3,731, averaging better than nine assists a game for her career.  She has 908 digs in her career and also over 100 aces.