Volleyball battles Indiana Tech in WHAC initiation

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Playing their first conference match as a member of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, the Defiance Yellow Jackets were defeated by Indiana Tech in four sets at the Schaefer Center on Wednesday.

The Yellow Jackets (6-6, 0-1 WHAC) were up against the defending conference champions on their home court but had the Warriors' (3-6, 1-0 WHAC) attention from the beginning of the match. Defiance jumped out to a 17-10 lead in the first set before Indiana Tech rallied back to win the race to 25. The Jackets bounced back to win the second set by two and were within five points the entire third set. In the fourth set, Indiana Tech jumped out to a 10-1 lead and went on to hit 34 percent to clinch the match.

THE TURNING POINT
A critical first set turned on a dime when DC's seven-point lead evaporated on seven straight points by Indiana Tech to tie the set 17-17 on five kills and two aces. The Warriors earned six straight points to take a 24-19 advantage due to a passing error and four DC attack errors. Those two big runs took the air out of a strong opening statement by the Yellow Jackets.

STINGER STATS

• DC's hitting got stronger as the match went on, topping out at 10 kills on 40 attempts in the third set. Indiana Tech's lowest attack set was during Defiance's win in the second when they committed 10 errors and 10 kills.
• Gabby Rodgriguez paced Defiance with 10 kills on a team-best 40 attacks. She also dug out 14 attacks.
• Chaney Brodbeck landed eight attacks and had 12 digs.
• Kaylee Dickinson led the Jackets with 17 digs on the defensive end.
• Amina Chamoun and Kylie Anderson split set duties with 13 and 11 assists respectively.
• Indiana Tech's Noelle Vanoort, the WHAC's defending player of the year, had a match-high 20 kills on 54 attacks. She also led the Warriors with 13 digs.

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets have a nine-day layoff before a long-awaited return to home court. Continuing the WHAC schedule, Defiance hosts Lawrence Tech at the Weaner Center on September 13 at 7 p.m.

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