DC Volleyball ends skid, gains first conference win
Nick Williams, Assistant SID

DEFIANCE, Ohio – After dropping the last six matches, the Defiance College Volleyball team gets back on the winning track with a big HCAC win against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology by the score 30-24, 30-24, 32-30.

In the first game, Rose-Hulman took an early 1-0 lead, which was quickly nullified by a Danielle Rego kill. From this point forward, DC take control of the game, keeping the Engineers at bay. However, Rose-Hulman took a 19-21 lead at one point, but DC would score the next five points to regain the lead. Although Rose-Hulman would come within two, a 6-2 run would put DC up 1-0.

The second game began with a service ace by Diane Bruns. DC would continue to put the pressure on the Engineers, at one point going up by as many as six. A short run would bring Rose-Hulman within three with the score 19-16. However, the Jackets would return the favor with a 6-3 run of their own to make it 25-20. After a timeout, Rose-Hulman would score the next three points to shrink the deficit to two. Yet DC would score five of the next six points for the win.

The third game saw Rose-Hulman come out inspired, as the Engineers took an early 7-3 lead that later stretched to 10-6. DC would come back to tie the game at 14, at which point both teams began to trade points until DC was down 24-23. Two service aces by Rego would give DC a one-point edge. Rose-Hulman would not down without a fight, making a 6-4 run to come to game point. A kill by Danyel Lipps would tie the game at 29, with Rego putting the match away with a kill for the 32-30 win.

Lauren Aldridge led all Jackets with 14 kills, while Rego and Lipps also reached double digits with 11 and 10, respectively. Ashton Judis handed out 26 assists, while Brittany Cooley had 16 of her own. Bruns and Corrie Farley led in digs with 15 and 14 between the two.

Defiance (7-16, 1-3 HCAC) will host Transylvania University tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m.