Volleyball Picked to Finish Third in HCAC Preseason Poll

GREENWOOD, IND. – Following a third straight winning season and a second consecutive year as hosts of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, the Defiance College volleyball team was picked to finish third in the 2015 HCAC Preseason Coaches Poll.

DC finished with 74 points in this season's poll, including receiving one first-place vote.  Rival and defending HCAC Tournament Champion, Bluffton University, was picked as the favorite heading into the 2015 campaign with 97 points and eight first-place votes.  Hanover (Ind.) College was second with 85 points and received the other first-place vote.

The Yellow Jackets will look to replace three players from last season in Bree Anderson, Caroline Hesterman and Alicia Kalik.  DC will return a lone senior in 2015 in Rebecca Kain (Orland, Ind./Prairie Heights) who earned honorable mention All-HCAC honors last season following a year where she led the team and finished third in the conference in digs with 539.  Also back is sophomore Meredith Shank (Maumee/Springfield) who joined Kain as an honorable mention pick in addition to All-Freshmen Team accolades.  She totaled 276 kills and averaged 2.63 kills per set, which placed her second on the team in both categories.  She also added 30 blocks on the year.

Aiding Kain and Shank this season as upperclassmen will be juniors Makayla Dennis (Bryan), Dia Jackson (Detroit, Mich./Canton) Ari Mahaffey (Porter, Ind./Chesterton) and Hope Neargarer (Union City/Mississinawa Valley).  

In addition, sophomores Jaidyn Patridge (Toledo/Springfield), Danielle Robbins (Westland, Mich./Wayne Memorial) and Sydney Unger (Frankfort, Ind./Clinton Central) all gained valuable playing experience in their first seasons with the program last fall and could make an impact again this season.  

DC will begin its season on Friday, Sept. 4 in the two-day Calvin (Mich.) College Invitational in Grand Rapids, Mich.  The Jackets will play host school Calvin in their first match on Friday which is set to begin at 1 p.m.  DC will then take on Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) University at 5 p.m.