Volleyball ends season with Senior Day match against Mt. St. Joseph

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance College volleyball team honored their six seniors prior to tonight's match against Mt. St. Joseph. The six seniors honored were Aliza Clark, Madison Schoenauer, Hope Yost, Kairston Moorer, Kayla Boettger, and Katlin Barrett. 

The no. 14 ranked Mt. St. Joseph Lions swept the Yellow Jackets in straight sets (25-13, 25-17, 23-25). MSJ improves to 23-1 overall and 9-0 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Yellow Jackets finish the year with an overall record of 4-22 and 0-9 in the HCAC. This is now the fourth straight year that the Yellow Jackets have finished with four wins.

The Lions jumped out to a 7-2 lead in set one as Shelby Clements, Katlin Barrett, and Madison Schoenauer recorded attack errors. A kill by Barrett made it 13-10, but the Lions answered with the next five to lead 18-10. A block by Jaelyn Tomoletz made it 19-13, and the Lions won the next six to win the set and clinched it with a kill by Jasmine Butler.

Set two was tight early and tied at five after a service error from Kendra Kline. Hope Yost served two aces during the early stretch of action. The Yellow Jackets trailed 8-7 after back-to-back attack errors from the Lions. However, MSJ answered in a big way and won the next seven points to lead 15-7 and the Lions slowly built their lead from there. The Yellow Jackets got a kill by Madison Schoenauer and a block by Jaelyn Tomoletz to make it 23-17, but it was the Lions who won the final two points of the set and clinched it on a service ace from Erin Androne.

Shelby Clements recorded an early kill in set three and thanks to a few attack errors from the Lions, the Yellow Jackets led 4-2 early in set three. Defiance took advantage of five offensive errors from their opponent to lead 9-4. The nationally ranked Lions roared back at that point and won ten straight points to make it 14-9. Back-to-back kills by Shelby Clements and Aliza Clark momentarily halted the momentum. An attack error by Kairston Moorer set up a match point for the Lions. With their season on the line, the Yellow Jackets got an ace by Courtney Maxwell and a kill by Madison Schoenauer to save three match points which made the score 24-23. The Lions maintained their composure and clinched the set and the match on the next point as Emily Pfeifer ended it with a kill. 

The Lions ended the match with 40 kills, 34 assists, and 46 digs. The Yellow Jackets finished with 17 kills, 16 assists, and 34 digs. 

Seniors Kairston Moorer and Katlin Barrett saw action for the first time this season. Moorer finished with one kill and Barrett finished with one kill and one solo block. Madison Schoenauer recorded four kills and Kayla Boettger recorded two digs. Aliza Clark added three kills and Emma Chafins finished with 17 digs while Kendra Kline dished in six assists along with Courtney Maxwell's seven.