DC falls in four sets at Aquinas

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – In the last road game of the regular-season schedule, the Defiance Yellow Jackets dropped a 3-1 decision (25-22, 15-25, 17-25, 10-25) to the Aquinas Saints at the Sturrus Center on Saturday.

With the loss, the Yellow Jackets (14-15, 7-10 WHAC) drop below .500 for the first time since starting 3-5 before winning nine straight matches. Meanwhile, the Saints (25-5, 16-0) remain unbeaten in WHAC play.

Defiance rebounded from Friday's loss to claim the first set and never trailed on their way to a 25-22 victory to start the match. DC crushed 13 kills on just three errors to set the tone. The opening set win by DC was the first set Aquinas lost in conference play since Defiance won the second set in their meeting at the Weaner Center back on Sept. 26.

Aquinas went on to sweep the next three sets to clinch the victory in four sets. The Saints went from down 10-9 to up 17-10 after an eight-point run. In the third, the Saints led the entire set and ran away with the fourth with a dominant 25-10 showing to close the contest.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Chaney Brodbeck led Defiance with 12 kills followed closely by Gabby Rodriguez, connecting on 10 attacks for points.
• Rodriguez had just one attack error and two solo blocks and one block assist.
• Kaylee Dickinson had a team-high 23 digs and was just two shy of leading all players on the floor.
• Haley Hammer assisted on 21 kills while Samantha Roffi set on seven successful kills by Defiance.
• Aquinas collected 58 kills in the match with an impressive 19 kills in the second set to tie the match.

UP NEXT
Defiance completes the season with three matches at home over the next two weeks, starting with a Wednesday night contest against Michigan-Dearborn at the Weaner Center starting at 7 p.m.

-JACKETS-