Volleyball edged out by Earlham on the road

RICHMOND, Ind. - The Defiance College volleyball team traveled to Earlham College on Wednesday night to take on the Quakers in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader. Defiance dropped a thrilling first match, which counts in the HCAC standings, by the score of 3-2 (19-25, 25-18, 25-17, 12-25, 8-15 ) before the Yellow Jackets fell short in the second non-conference contest losing 3-0 (20-25, 9-25, 18-25 ).

In game one, the Quakers took the opening set by small margins, but the Yellow Jackets rallied in the second set to come out victorious. Defiance used the momentum from set two to win a tight back and forth, third set to go up 2-1 over Earlham. Defiance fell short in set four, sending the match into a deciding set, where the Quakers were able to edge out the Yellow Jackets 15-8.  

Offensively, Defiance finished match one with a .164 hitting percentage compared to .240 for Earlham. The Yellow Jackets were led by junior outside hitter Mackenzie Benham who tallied 12 kills and 17 digs on the day. Followed closely by Olivia Rayk and Riley Davis, who each added 10 kills apiece to the stat sheet. 

Brianna Wheeler dished out a team-best 28 assists with 13 digs, while Madison Schoenauer contributed a match-high three solo blocks. The Purple and Gold collected 11 service aces to the Quakers' five. Alexis Kiessling led DC from behind the service line with five aces throughout the match. 

Match two saw the close opening set, where the Quakers edged out the Yellow Jackets and continued to put on the pressure as the home side won in straight sets. 

Senior Morgan Porter led the DC offense with five kills finishing with a .400 hitting percentage. Rayk and Davis continued the offensive stride from match one with three kills each.

Defensively, Kiessling produced a team-high 14 digs while adding two service aces. The Yellow Jackets were credited with nine total service aces, as Kennedy Jeffrey and Maddison Baacke each tacked on two aces each in the final match of the day. 

With the losses, the Yellow Jackets stand at 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the HCAC standings. The Purple and Gold will be back in the Karl H. Weaner Center this Saturday, February 6th, as they host the Franklin College Grizzlies for a doubleheader. First serve is slated for 1:00 pm.