Rodriguez racks up the kills despite two losses to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance Yellow Jackets opened up their Homecoming weekend with a non-conference doubleheader on against the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Pomeroys, losing both matches by scores of 3-1 and 3-0 at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

The Yellow Jackets (8-15, 2-6 WHAC) battled hard against the Pomeroys (20-3, 2-3 RSC) as three of the seven sets went beyond the 25-point mark. Gabby Rodriguez highlighted Defiance's attack game with 32 total kills in the two matches and was the only Yellow Jacket with double-figure kills in each match. Friday's twinbill was also the final non-conference games of the season as Defiance takes aim at qualifying for the WHAC tournament the remainder of the season.

As part of the Homecoming festivities, the Defiance volleyball program welcomed all returning alumni and also recognized the back-to-back HCAC Championship volleyball teams from the 2013 and 2014 season, celebrating 10 years since their title seasons.

Game One, L 3-1 (24-26, 25-27, 25-15, 16-25) 

Through the first two sets, neither team could grab command of the game with both teams trading points and only able to get short runs. Near the end of the first set, the Jackets went on a four-point run to tie it at 24-24 before failing to keep momentum and losing the set 26-24. A similar story continued with the second set as neither team could build a great lead, going even deeper as the Jackets once again managed to fall just short 25-27. The Jackets came out strong in the third set, winning the first nine points and holding that lead ultimately taking the set 25-15. However, the Pomeroys countered with a dominant fourth set to clinch the match with a 25-16 win.

Game Two, L 3-0 (19-25, 25-27, 14-25) 

The Pomeroys came out strong in the second match, slowly outgaining Defiance to build up leads in the first and second sets and used a few short runs to claim the first set. The second set was much of the same until the Jackets came storming back with a four-point run to take a lead 24-23, but they were unable to finish the job as they fell 27-25. The third set started the same as the first two but the Pomeroys went on a seven-point run to take a 13-5 lead and then confidently closed out the match with a 25-14 victory. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• In the first match, Gabby Rodriguez recorded 19 kills, the most kills by a Yellow Jacket in a match this season. That total was also the most kills in a match since 2021 when Mackenzie Benham had 22 kills in two different matches that season. 
• Rodriguez came back with 13 more kills in the second match. She notched a hit percentage of .258 in the second contest after hitting for a .348 mark in the first match.
• Jaelyn Tomoletz had five solo blocks between the two matches and finished 11 total blocks over the two games. She also had 12 total kills.
• Abby Altizer tallied seven total blocks with four assists in the first match to compliment eight kills for the night.
• Shelby Clements had four service aces between the two matches. Kaylee Dickinson, Gabby Rodriguez, and Amina Chamoun all had two of their own. 
• Clements also had a team-high 28 total digs, 14 in each match. Jamia Murray led the way in the first match with 16 digs.
• Murray had seven kills and six kills for 13 total on the night, the second-most on the squad.
• Amina Chamoun was the top passer in each contest, totaling 42 assists for the two matches.

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets take on the Indiana Tech Warriors at home on Wednesday October 9th, match starts at 7:00 P.M.

Written by Logan Kunkel.

Members of the 2013 and 2014 Defiance College Volleyball HCAC Championship teams returning for Homecoming 2024.

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