Defiance Comes Up Short on Day One of the ONU Invitational

ADA, OHIO - The Defiance College volleyball team looked to rally in its night cap against Bluffton on Friday evening but came up short as they fell to Case Western 3-1 and dropped an exciting contest with Bluffton by a score of 3-1 at the Ohio Northern Invitational. 

The Yellow Jackets (0-2 overall) were led on the day by senior Brooke Plummer (Plain City/Jonathan Alder) and junior Jessi Davis (Delta)with a combined 14 kills a piece.

The Purple and Gold dropped their opening match of the 2018 season to Case Western 17-25, 25-23, 29-31, 19-25.

In the opening set, Defiance claimed the 2-0 lead following back-to-back kills by junior Emma Seitz (Toledo/Central Catholic). However, Case Western rallied scoring four straight points to take the 6-4 advantage. They continued to dominate the set as they rattled off three straight points to push the lead to 17-9. 

The Yellow Jackets looked to respond late in the set as kills from Davis and freshman Delaney Monnin (Defiance/Tinora) pulled DC within 23-16 before Case scored the final tow points to claim set one. 

DC jumped out early in set two capturing the 5-0 lead as Plummer hammered home three straight kills. Defiance continued to dominate the set early as freshman Katlyn Brown (Angola, Ind.) connected with Monnin to cap off a three point run. 

However, Case Western would come roaring back as they cut the deficit to just 13-12 following a pair of Yellow Jacket miscues. Dc weathered the storm and behind the attack of Davis was able to tally the games final two points to capture set two, 25-23. 

The Purple and Gold carried the momentum into the third set as they again captured the early 6-3 lead off a Plummer kill. The two teams would exchange several points before back-to-back kills by Monnin and Plummer gave DC the 22-20 advantage. 

However, the Yellow Jackets saw its slim lead disappear as a Case kill and service ace sealed the third set victory. 

Case Western dominated the final set early pushing the game wide open with a 15-8 advantage. Defiance looked to erase the deficit as a kill by freshman Mackenzie Benham (Marshall, Mich.) and a CWRU miscue pulled DC within 18-15 but was unable to hang on as they dropped the final set 25-19.

Plummer led the Purple and Gold in the contest with a team-high 13 kills, while Benham and Seitz both registered nine kills a piece. 

In the night cap with Bluffton, Defiance fell 14-25, 14-25, 26-24, 20-25.

In the opening set, Defiance capitalized on a pair of Bluffton errors to capture the 3-1 lead before the Beavers responded scoring seven straight points to claim the 7-5 advantage. They never looked back as BU strung together a series of runs to claim the set one victory.

Bluffton would again use a series of runs in set two to stifle the Defiance momentum and capture the two set advantage.

The Purple and Gold attack came alive in the third set as kills by Seitz and Benham gave DC the early 6-4 lead. However, Bluffton continued to hang around as they tied the contest at 10-10 before taking the lead moments later. 

The Yellow Jackets delivered another punch as it used a four point rally to regain the 16-14 advantage. After exchanging several points the duo of Seitz and Benham struck again to give the Purple and Gold the 24-22 lead. DC would claim the victory as freshman Jamie DeTro (Angola, Ind.) connected with Davis for the set sealing kill.

However, Bluffton deemed to much in the final set as an eight point rally sank the Yellow Jackets.

Defiance was led in the matchup by Davis with a team-high six kills.

The Yellow Jackets return to action on Saturday, Sept. 1 as they take on Ohio Northern and Carnegie Mellon.