Defiance Drops Pair of Matches to Conclude ONU Invitational

ADA, OHIO -- The Defiance College volleyball team lost a pair of matches to Case Western Reserve University and to Thomas More (Ky.) College to wrap up action at the Ohio Northern Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

In the opener, Case Western (2-2) came out with a 25-13, 25-11, 25-23 victory over the Yellow Jackets (0-3).

In set one, the Spartans ran off to a 9-3 lead right off the bat. After three straight points for DC cut the deficit to three points, Case Western responded with five straight to take control of the match with a 14-6 edge. The teams exchanged points until late, when the Spartans scored the final four points of the set to take the first set, 25-13.

Defiance came out firing to start the second set, as kills from Marissa Windau (Castalia/Margaretta), Jenni Davis (Bryan), and Emma Seitz (Toledo/Central Catholic) sparked the Yellow Jackets to a 7-2 lead. The tides turned quickly, however, as the Spartans scored 16 of the next 18 points to take a commanding 18-8 advantage in the set, as Case Western pulled out a 25-11 victory.

A pair of spikes from Windau got DC to an early lead in the third, but the set would quickly become tied, 4-4. The teams battled back and forth until Case Western took a 12-9 lead, but kills by Jenni Davis and Windau, paired with a ball handling error tied the set at 12-12. Another spurt from the Spartans gave them an 18-14 advantage. The lead then sat at 20-18 when a kill from Seitz, followed by consecutive aces by Jaidyn Patridge (Toledo/Springfield) gave DC the lead, 21-20, in the late going. Case took the lead back at 23-21, and despite the Yellow Jackets getting within a point (24-23) on a Jenni Davis kill, Case earned the 25-23 victory to sweep the Yellow Jackets.

Jenni Davis led the Yellow Jacket attack with seven kills on 14 attempts, while sister Jessi Davis (Bryan) led DC with four blocks. Sophomore setter Madison Hollis (Burlington, Ky./Randall K. Cooper) finished the match with 25 assists, while defensively, Windau and Patridge paced the Yellow Jackets with 10 digs. 

In the late match, Thomas More (1-3) knocked off the Yellow Jackets, 25-13, 25-23, 25-12.

The Saints started the match by taking a quick 6-2 lead before the Yellow Jackets rallied to cut the deficit to 8-6. Thomas More responded with nine straight points to put the set out of reach with a 17-6 edge, and would take the opening set, 25-13.

Defiance responded well to start the second set, as four different Yellow Jackets got kills as DC took a 13-3 advantage. The Saints cut the lead to 18-12, before a 4-0 run cut the DC lead to 18-16. Back-to-back kills by Windau and Seitz brought the Defiance lead to 20-16, but Thomas More scored five of the next six points to tie the set at 21-21. The set was tied at 23 after consecutive kills by Jessi Davis, but Thomas More earned the final two points of the set to win it, 25-23, and take a 2-0 lead.

Thomas More stormed their way to a 10-4 lead to open the third set. A kill by Seitz and an error on the Saints cut it to 10-6, but they responded with three straight points to make it a 13-6 lead. After a Jessi Davis kill, Thomas More put the final set out of reach with seven straight markers to take a 20-7 advantage, which eventually yielded a 25-12 third set victory and a sweep of the Yellow Jackets.

Marissa Windau paced the Yellow Jacket offense with six kills, while Jaidyn Patridge anchored the back row with 20 digs in the nightcap. Madison Hollis wrapped up the second match with 16 assists for DC.

The Yellow Jackets return to action next weekend, as they travel to the Oberlin Invitational. DC will open at 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 8 with a matchup against Marietta, then take on Mt. Aloyius (Pa.) and the host Yeomen on Saturday, Sept. 9.