DC Opens Marcia French Invitational With Pair of Losses

BEREA, OHIO  --  The Defiance College volleyball team began the first day of the Marcia French Memorial Tournament on the campus of Baldwin Wallace University with a pair of losses against host school BW and the University of Mount Union in Berea, Ohio.  The Yellow Jackets fell in both games by the final scores of 3-0.

In the match against BW, Defiance (1-4) jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead in the first set and equaled the margin later in the set, 8-6, following a kill by sophomore Brook Plummer (Plain City/Jonathan Alder).  Baldwin Wallace then scored six straight points to jump out in front, 12-8, and never looked back.  BW put the set away with another six-point run to extend the margin to commanding 20-12 advantage and cruised to a 25-16 final.

The second set began with a 6-1 run by BW.  Defiance answered with three consecutive points highlighted by a kill by junior Meredith Shank (Maumee/Springfield) and a service ace by Plummer to pull to within two points, 6-4.  But a two-point deficit would be as close as DC would get as BW held the advantage and gradually pulled away which inlcuded a 5-0 run later in the set that put the home team in command, 19-11.  Defiance battled back to get to within three points, 20-17, on a point by sophomore Marisa Windau (Castalia/Margaretta), but Baldwin Wallace outlasted DC, 25-20, and took a 2-0 overall lead in the match.

The two teams found themselves in a see-saw battle early in the third set with neither squad leading by more than a point.  The back-and-forth pace continued with DC leading by three points, 19-16, following an ace by senior Ari Mahaffey (Porter, Ind./Chesterton).  BW rallied with an ensuing 7-0 run and take a 23-19 lead.  Defiance made a rally of its own to even the set and fought off two match points for BW down the stretch resulting in the teams being tied at 25-25.  DC gained the advantage to force a possible fourth set thanks to a kill by Windau making the score 26-25.  BW tallied the next point to knot the game at 26-26 and sealed the victory with back-to-back points for the 28-26 set win and the overall match victory, 3-0.

Windau led DC offensively with nine kills, followed by Shank eight kills.  Mahaffey posted a team-high 28 set assists and was one of three Defiance players to record two aces.  

Defensively, senior Makayla Dennis (Bryan) had 13 digs and freshman Jessica Davis (Delta) led the effort at the net with three total blocks (two solo and one assist).

Against Mount Union, the Purple Raiders outscored Defiance, 10-3, to begin the first set.  The Yellow Jackets would have to play catch up the rest of the way and got to within five points, 13-8, following a kill by senior Hop Neargarder (Union City/Mississinawa Valley).  Mount Union then recorded three straight points to extend the lead to a more comfortable eight points, 16-8.  DC would not threaten the Mount Union lead the remainder of the set as the Raiders cruised to the 25-15 win.

In set two, the Jackets were the beneficiary of three consecutive errors by the Raiders to grab an early lead.  Mount Union then answered with four straight points to take a 4-3 margin.  Defiance later looked to take control of the set with a six-point lead, 21-15, on a kill by Shank.  But the Purple Raiders then made their charge ending the set by outscoring the Jackets, 10-2, to claim the 25-23 come-from-behind victory.

Mount Union built an early 5-2 lead to begin the third set.  Back-to-back-to-back kills by Shank, Plummer and junior Danielle Robbins (Westland, Mich./Wayne Memorial) evened the set for DC at 5-5.  The momentum didn't last long for the Jackets, however, as the Purple Raiders regained the lead and eventually pulled away in the set to lead by as many as 10 points at 21-11.  Mount Union went on to win by the final of 25-17 to compete the 3-0 match sweep.

Shank led the Yellow Jackets in kills with nine, followed by Jessica Davis with five kills.  Mahaffey tallied a team-best 19 assists and added two more aces on the night to highlight the DC offense.

Two players recorded double-digit totals in digs led by Dennis with 18.  Neargarder was the other Jacket in double figures with 10 digs. 

Defiance will conclude the two-day Marcia French Tournament with a pair of matches tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 10) on the campus of Case Western Reserve University in University Circle, Ohio.  The Yellow Jackets will take on host school Case at 11 a.m., followed by a matchup against Denison University at 1 p.m.