Jackets rack up two more wins on Friday

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Purple and Gold notched two more victories on the volleyball court on Friday afternoon with a pair of four-set wins over Indiana Northwest (25-17, 18-25, 25-10, 25-16) and St. Ambrose (19-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-17). The contests were played at Indiana Tech's Schaefer Center and were part of the first day of the Liz Lykowski Invitational.

Defiance avenged last season's season-opening loss by taking down Indiana Northwest to start the day. Defiance had another efficient hitting game at .240 while the RedHawks came away with a negative attack percentage. After trading the first two sets, DC caught fire on the offensive end and hit over .400 in the last two sets, which included a 25-10 win in the third set. Shelby Clements had a strong all-around match with nine kills to complement a team-high three aces and 13 digs.

The Yellow Jackets extended their winning streak to three matches in a row later on Friday evening against St. Ambrose. DC shook off a loss in the opening set and won three convincing sets in a row. As a team, six different players had at least five kills, landed 13 aces and made 11 blocks in the winning effort. St. Ambrose took command of the first set with a surge in the second half of the set, but Defiance found momentum early in the second. Despite a comeback by their opponent, the Yellow Jackets closed down the second set on a 12-2 run. A dominant third set was followed by an 8-0 start to the fourth set, which included three aces by Haley Hammer.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Yellow Jackets are now riding their second three-game winning streak of the young season.
• DC is also above .500 for the second time this year.
• The team's longest winning streak under head coach Jeremy Thornburg is four straight matches last season.
• Chaney Brodbeck led the team with 19 kills over the two matches and made just eight errors on 42 total attacks. She also had five total aces on the afternoon.
• Shelby Clements also stood out with 17 kills between the two matches.
• Jaelyn Tomoletz was a force in the middle during the match against St. Ambrose with a season-best eight kills to go with four total blocks. She totaled 11 blocks in the two matches.
• Taylor Craft had six kills and five blocks in the win over St. Ambrose.
• Lauryn O'Lenic returned to action on Friday and turned in five kills in the second match of the day, setting a new season-high.

UP NEXT
DC finishes the invitational portion of its season tomorrow for the last day of the two-day event hosted by Indiana Tech. On Saturday, Defiance will match up against West Virginia Tech at 10 a.m. followed by a 12 p.m. match against Milligan. 

-JACKETS-