DC wins thriller at Midway behind Setla's big day

MIDWAY, Ky. - The Defiance Yellow Jackets scored the program's first five-set victory with a 3-2 win (27-25, 16-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-10) over the Midway Eagles at Marshall Gymnasium on Friday.

The Yellow Jackets (4-11, 2-7 WHAC) snapped a 3-game slide to start the month of March and played five sets for the first time in program history. Thaddeus Setla was nearly unstoppable on the attack, posting the most kills in a match by any player this season with 23 and had just one attack error in the contest. Two other Yellow Jackets, Matthew Schulte (17 kills) and Philippe Meny (16 kills, season high) also had double-figure kills while Quinn Silverman's 8 kills were a season-best. While the Jackets hit a season-best .360 and had 70 team kills, Adam Sutton set the program bar with 62 assists in the contest. Additionally, Oniel Alvarez recorded 20 digs, his third match reaching the 20-dig plateau.

The two squads traded sets with Defiance capturing the first and third. DC posted 18 of 27 points on the attack in the first set, which saw neither team lead by more than 3 points. The Eagles captured the second with efficient hitting with the aid of 6 DC errors while flipping a 7-5 deficit into a 17-8 lead. DC responded with a dominant third, jumping ahead 12-6 with multiple kills from Kaden Burgeson, Setla and Schulte. Midway scored 6 of 7 points after trailing 11-10 to grab control of the fourth set and were able to force a fifth set with 17 kills.

The decisive fifth set saw six ties through a 9-9 score. After a Midway service error broke the tie, Setla blasted three straight kills to give Defiance a 13-9 lead. Another service error put DC in position for match point, which Setla delivered with his 23rd kill of the contest.

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets remain on the road for one more match at Kentucky State on Saturday. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Bell Gymnasium.

-JACKETS-