Defiance competitive against Cornerstone despite straight-set defeat

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Hosting a second straight nationally-ranked club on Saturday, the Defiance Yellow Jackets were came up short by just two over the first two sets before succumbing to a three-set sweep to the Cornerstone Golden Eagles.

The Yellow Jackets (9-20, 3-11 WHAC) had just 14 hitting errors in the contest compared to 18 by the Golden Eagles (17-9, 9-5 WHAC) but Cornerstone got hot at the right times to pick up the win.

Defiance was the first team to 10 in all three sets and held leads as late as the 23rd and 18th points of the first two sets. DC led 22-20 in the first on the heels of back-to-back blocks by Tomoletz, who answered with a go-ahead kill after the Golden Eagles evened the score but CU prevailed to take the set. 

The Yellow Jackets had command of the second set as well with and led by as many as five points but could not hold off another comeback. Defiance also had a strong start to the third and led 12-11 before another rally led to the end of the match.

THE TURNING POINT

The second set proved to be a pivotal point in the match when Cornerstone extinguished DC's attempt to even the match at one set each. Defiance was out to an 18-14 lead and led by as many six points in the set. Cornerstone regrouped after a timeout at the 18-14 mark and posted eight straight points to claim the lead. Defiance answered with five of their own to lead 23-22 but two clutch kills and an ace finished off the second straight 25-23 loss for Defiance.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Defiance doubled their hitting efficiency from their previous meeting with Cornerstone with a .140 average compared to .070 on Sept. 20 in Grand Rapids.
• Jamia Murray and Gabby Rodriguez each registered a team-high 10 kills. Shelby Clements was not far behind with six kills.
• Kaylee Dickinson was the top defender with 14 digs followed by Clements with 13.
• Four different players recorded blocks led by Jaelyn Tomoletz with a pair in the first set.
• Amina Chamoun served up 14 of the team's 29 assists.

UP NEXT

The Yellow Jackets continue their homestand to close the regular season on Wednesday. Defiance welcomes Concordia for their second match of the year against the Cardinals at 7 p.m. at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

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