DC Volleyball wins crucial HCAC matchup against Beavers
Nick Williams, Assistant SID

BLUFFTON, Ohio – With the season on the line, the Defiance College Volleyball team came together and persevered against a tough opponent and a boisterous crowd, as the Yellow Jackets won its final match of the season against Bluffton University 30-24, 26-30, 30-28, 30-26.

Defiance came out streaking in the first set and was making good contact on the ball, committing only two hitting errors in the set while hitting .267. Bluffton would make a run of its own in the second set, as the Beavers limited DC to only .179 hitting in the set. The Jackets attempted a valiant comeback with their backs to the wall. Being down 29-19, DC rallied for seven straight points before finally dropping the set. The third set saw Defiance come out strong offensively, as the Jackets had a 15 kills in the set, the most in any set during the match. The fourth and final set pitted both teams playing as well as in any point in the match. In the end, it proved to be timely hitting and critical defense that helped DC come together and put away the Beavers for the decisive win.

Danielle Rego led DC with 16 kills, while hitting a season-high .462 in the match. Lauren Aldridge and Danyel Lipps each reached double figures in kills with 15 and 14, respectively. Ashton Judis handed out 23 assists with Brittany Cooley contributing 15 of her own. Diane Bruns dug out 27 balls, while Corrie Farley had 23 digs as well.

Defiance (9-19, 3-5 HCAC), along with the win by Franklin College over Hanover College gives Defiance the sixth and final postseason seed for the HCAC tournament. DC will be the sixth seed entering the HCAC Tournament this weekend. The Jackets will play Anderson University at host Mount St. Joseph on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The winner of that match will play #2 seed Hanover at 7:00 p.m.