Yellow Jackets Split Day One in Berea, OH

BEREA, Ohio – The Defiance College volleyball team split matches on the opening day of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference / Ohio Athletic Conference Crossover tournament today, falling 3-0 to Baldwin Wallace and winning 3-0 against John Carroll in Berea, Ohio.

DC struggled from the first set, falling behind 12-6 to Baldwin Wallace. Jenni Davis and Emma Seitz combined for a pair of kills late in the game to make the score 18-11 but BWU would go on to take the 1-0 lead 25-15.

Set two was a better battle for Defiance as they jumped out to a 1-0 lead. However, Baldwin Wallace quickly retaliated, earning a 16-7 lead before finishing off the match 25-17 to gain a 2-0 lead on DC.

In the final set, BWU continued their momentum, gaining a 7-1 advantage. Seitz and Danielle Robbins attempted to rally the Yellow Jackets with a pair of kills but it was too little too late as Baldwin Wallace claimed the final set 25-10, finishing with a 3-0 victory.

Davis paced DC with seven kills on 28 attacks for a .071 kill percentage. Marissa Windau added four kills while Seitz and Robbins both added three kills apiece. Abigail Cronin dished out a team best 11 assists while Madison Hollis added eight. Jaidyn Patridge tallied 12 digs followed by Windau with eight and Hollis with seven.

In match two against the Blue Streaks the Yellow Jackets came back with purpose. They easily defeated John Carroll 25-10 after taking a 13-3 lead in the first game.

It was a similar story in the second set as DC charged ahead 8-2, taking advantage of service and attacks errors by John Carroll. JCU was able to close the gap to come within three points of DC at 10-7, but kills from Windau and Brooke Plummer helped Defiance to a 25-15 victory and 2-0 lead over John Carroll.

The final set saw a Yellow Jacket comeback as DC fell behind 9-5 to the Blue Streak. They were able to tie the game at 9-9 on an attack error by JCU before climbing to a 17-11 lead. They continued to smother their opponents, finally ending the game 25-19.

Windau finished with a team best 11 kills (.321 kill percentage), followed by Seitz with nine kills and Robbins with six. Cronin recorded 18 assists while Hollis passed out 11 of her own. Patridge tallied 25 digs on the night.

Defiance is back on the court tomorrow for another brace of games against Ohio Northern at 10:00 AM and Capital at 2:00 PM in Berea, Ohio