Senior Day Success Sends Volleyball into Postseason on Win Streak

DEFIANCE, Ohio - Defiance College volleyball took to the court in the Karl H. Weaner Center one last time for the 2019 season on Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets, celebrating Senior Day, emphatically sealed the regular season with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-21) victory over the Mount St. Joseph Lions. 

Prior to the day's action, Defiance acknowledged three seniors. Abigail Cronin (Lambertville, Mich./Cardinal Stritch Catholic), Jessi Davis (Delta/Delta), and Emma Seitz (Toledo/Central Catholic) were each recognized in front of the Defiance faithful for their contributions to the program over the last four years. 

Set number one saw the visitors steal the first few points of the contest before Defiance grabbed the early lead. Trailing 7-5, the Yellow Jackets reeled off four straight points, including two aces from Morgan Porter (Defiance/Defiance). With the 9-7 advantage, DC never looked back, solidifying the opening set win 25-20. 

The second set once again saw MSJ take an early advantage. With the sides knotted at 19, Defiance won six of the next nine points to match their first set score with another 25-20 victory. 

Similarly, the third set saw DCVB take a late lead from the visitors. Looking to close out the affair in just three sets, back-to-back kills from Davis and Mackenzie Umbaugh (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) had the Yellow Jackets just two points away from heading into the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on a two-match win streak. From there, DC quickly wrapped up the contest as Delaney Monnin (Defiance/Tinora) and Seitz tallied the final two kills of the day. 

Offensively, Monnin and Davis led the way for Defiance. In her final match in the Weaner Center, Davis tallied ten kills, 12 digs, and two blocks to help propel DC to victory. Monnin recorded a team-high 14 kills for the Purple and Gold. 

With he 23 digs, Porter led the way on the defensive side of the ball. The junior also recorded three aces from the service line. Four other Yellow Jackets hit the double-digit dig mark on the day. Cronnin wrapped up her regular season career with 14, while Mackenzie Benham (Marshall, Mich./Marshall), Davis, Alexis Kiessling (Defiance/Defiance) recorded 13, 12, and 11 digs respectively. 

With the victory, Defiance concludes the regular season with a 17-11 record and a 5-4 mark in HCAC play. After missing out in 2018, Defiance returns to post-season play as they take their two-match win streak into the conference tournament in the coming week.