Jackets defeat Rochester Christian for first WHAC victory

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. - The Defiance Yellow Jackets captured the men's volleyball program's first conference victory with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 27-29, 25-15) win over the Rochester Christian Warriors at Garth Pleasant Arena.

The Yellow Jackets (2-5, 1-3 WHAC) snapped a five-game slide in which the team had one set win and faced three nationally-ranked conference opponents. The Warriors dropped to 0-9 to start their season.

Defiance set the tone early, building an 11-4 lead in the first set. After the Warriors battled back, DC closed out the win by winning two straight points after a 23-23 tie. Sets 2 and 3 were competitive as well with a tie as late as 18-18 in the second before DC prevailed, while RCU outlasted the Jackets in a lengthy 29-27 third set. The Warriors held the lead early in Set 4 before the Purple and Gold rallied for 8 straight points to regain the lead for good and close out the match.

As a team, the Yellow Jackets logged a season-high 51 kills in the win with the best hitting percentage of the season as well (.200). Thaddeus Setla led the Jackets with 12 kills, followed closely by Zack Baker with 10 and Matthew Schulte's 9. Adam Sutton dished out a season-high 40 assists while Oniel Alvarez logged the most digs by any DC player this season with 23. Alvarez also landed 5 aces in the win, setting another program mark in the inaugural season. Kaden Burgeson was also part of 4 total blocks to match the program's best for the campaign.

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets return home for the first time in three weeks on Friday, hosting the Goshen Maple Leafs for another WHAC contest. First serve at the Karl H. Weaner Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.

-JACKETS-