Defiance Ends Season at HCAC Semifinals

HANOVER, IND.  --  After advancing to the semifinal round of the 2015 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament with a win on Wednesday, the Defiance College volleyball team saw its season come to an end with a 3-1 (19-25, 20-25, 25-16, 17-25) loss against Bluffton University in Hanover, Ind.

Junior Hope Neargarder (Union City/Mississinawa Valley) led the Yellow Jacket offense with 10 kills, followed by sophomore Danielle Robbins (Westland, Mich./Wayne Memorial) with nine kills and sophomore Meredith Shank (Maumee/Springfield) added eight kills.  Junior Ari Mahaffey (Porter, Ind./Chesterton) recorded 30 assists in her final match of the season and also had one service ace.  Shank and junior Makayla Dennis (Bryan) both had a game-tying high two aces and freshman Marissa Windau (Castalia/Margaretta) also had an ace.

On defense, senior Rebecca Kain (Orland, Ind./Prairie Heights had a match-high 27 digs, bringing her total to 648 on the season adding to her school single-season record.  Dennis was second with eight digs and junior sophomore Jaidyn Patridge (Toledo/Springfield) had six digs.  Windau and Mahaffey led DC with two blocks each.  Windau had two block assists and Mahaffey tallied two solo blocks.

The two teams played at a back-and-forth pace early in the opening set with the teams battling to a 10-10 tie.  Neargarder recorded two of her 10 kills in the match during the fleury.  Bluffton (18-12) then scored three straight points to gain an advantage, 13-10.  Defiance (11-19) came back to even the set at 14-14 following a kill by Robbins, but the Beavers later regained the lead and ended the set with three consecutive points to win, 25-19.

DC took early momentum in the second set, beginning with an 8-2 scoring run that included a pair of kills by freshman Brooke Plummer (Plain City/Jonathan Alder).  Bluffton answered with a 8-2 run of its own to even the set at 10-10.  The two rivals then traded leads and eventually found themselves tied at 17-17.  The Beavers then made their move, outscoring the Jackets, 8-3, to capture the 25-20 win and the 2-0 overall match lead.

In set three, Bluffton jumped out early leading 5-1.  This time, DC rallied to even the score and take the lead as part of a 12-1 run that included a pair of kills by both Mahaffey and Robbins as the Jackets built a 13-6 margin.  Bluffton would get to within four points, 13-9, but that would be as close as the Beavers would get as the Jackets went on to post a convincing 25-16 victory to keep the match going.

Bluffton never trailed in the fourth set and would only lead by as many as four points early in the frame.  But the Beavers would begin to slowly pull away and built their lead to as many as six points before going on to post the 25-17 final and a 3-1 match victory to advance to the tournament championship tomorrow (Sunday, Nov. 8).

Following the conclusion of the tournament, Kain was selected to the All-Tournament Team.