Volleyball drops two matches to rival Bluffton on Senior Night

DEFIANCE, Ohio – On Wednesday inside the Karl H. Weaner Community Center, the Defiance College volleyball team celebrated Senior Night before dropping two matches to the rival Bluffton University Beavers. 

Prior to the action, Defiance seniors Morgan Porter and Kennedy Jeffrey were honored. Both are four-year players in the Yellow Jackets' program.

DC lost, 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-18), in the opening Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference match before suffering a heartbreaking 3-2 (16-25, 21-25, 25-17, 25-17, 15-13) setback in the second non-conference contest.

In the HCAC tilt, Bluffton registered 42 kills and 14 errors in 114 attempts for a .246 hitting percentage, compared to 29, 16, 104, and .125, respectively, for the hosts. Each team finished with 53 digs while the Beavers had 10 service aces to just one ace for Defiance.

Mackenzie Benham and Riley Davis tallied eight kills apiece for the Yellow Jackets while Brianna Wheeler dished out a match-high 23 assists. Porter topped all players in digs with 20.

The second match went down to the wire with BU winning a thrilling fifth set. DC edged its guests in kills (49-43) and attack percentage (.118-.106), but allowed 13 service aces and was guilty of 16 service errors.

Benham, Davis, and Kenzie Duncan were credited with 10 kills each for Defiance while Duncan produced no errors for a .500 kill percentage. Wheeler again had a match-best with 37 assists while Tre'Ana King added a match-high 20 digs.

The Jackets are 4-11 overall and 3-5 in conference play while Bluffton moves to 14-7 and 5-3, respectively. DC is scheduled to conclude its regular season this Saturday afternoon with a pair of matches at Mount St. Joseph University. The first contest is set for 1 p.m. in Cincinnati, Ohio.