DC Leaves MSJ With Two Wins

CINCINNATI, OHIO -- The Defiance College volleyball team opened the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference season with a four-set victory against Mount St. Joseph University, 3-1, and followed that up with a straight-set win, 3-0, against non-conference foe Otterbein University in Cincinnati. 

Against Mount St. Joseph, the opening set belonged to the Lions (8-8, 0-2) despite a hot start from the Yellow Jackets (5-9, 1-0). Three straight kills from junior Meredith Shank (Maumee/Springfield) gave DC a quick 8-6 lead. That lead would be short-lived as seven straight markers from MSJ finished off Defiance as they went on to a 25-20 win.

Set number two saw the opposite, as the Yellow Jackets quickly took the lead after starting the set trailing, 2-1. The lead would get down to 13-12 before DC scored nine of the next 11 points and suddenly DC had finished off the set with a 25-19 win to even the overall match at 1-1.

The third was all Defiance, as they jumped to an 11-3 lead and never looked back, winning the set handily, 25-12.

The fourth set was even from the start, with MSJ holding a 10-9 lead before DC took over. Five straight points that were capped by back-to-back kills by freshman Emma Seitz (Toledo/Central Catholic), put the Yellow Jackets ahead 14-10. MSJ rallied back to tie the set at 18-18 and eventually led, 24-22. But the Lions would commit attack errors on three of the final four points of the match as Defiance took over to win the set, 26-24, and the match, 3-1.

Shank dominated on the attack for the Yellow Jackets, as she finished the match with 17 kills. Sophomore Marissaa Windau (Castalia/Margaretta) led DC with five blocks to go along with six kills. Senior Ari Mahaffey (Porter, Ind/Chesterton) finished with 36 assists.

The defense was led by 29 digs by senior Makayla Dennis (Bryan), while junior Jaidyn Patridge (Toledo/Springfield) added 22 digs. 

The Yellow Jackets were able to impressively blow past non-conference foe, Otterbein College (10-5), in the second match of the day with a 25-22, 25-16, 25-17 victory.

Neither team saw a lead of more than two points to start the opening set. With the match tied at 15-15, a kill by Shank started a 6-0 spurt from DC, and they would take a lead they would never relinquish as DC won the first set, 25-22.

The second set saw Defiance continue with momentum, scoring eight of the first ten points in the set, and taking an 8-2 advantage. The Cardinals could never get within less than four points as Defiance took the second frame, 25-16.

Otterbein kept it close early in the third set, staying within a point midway through at 14-13. DC finished strong, scoring 11 of the final 14 points, including four of the final five DC points coming on kills from Shank, to give Defiance a 25-17 third set win and the sweep.

Shank followed up her big performance in the first match with an even better showing in the second, as she finished with 15 kills on 32 attacks for a stellar .406 attack percentage. Dennis and Patridge continued to lead the charge with 17 and 14 digs, respectively, while Mahaffey added 32 assists. 

Defiance will continue HCAC play with a key conference showdown with arch-rival Bluffton University on Wednesday, Oct. 5. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Karl H. Weaner Center.