Defiance picks up four-set win over Franklin on Tuesday

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance Yellow Jackets outlasted the Franklin Grizzlies and a 45-minute severe weather delay to earn a 3-1 victory (25-21, 25-22, 17-25, 25-23) at the Karl H. Weaner Center on Tuesday.

The Yellow Jackets (6-17, 3-12 WHAC) snapped a four-game losing streak and avenged a four-set loss to the Grizzlies (6-20) earlier this month. Play was halted at the 4-3 mark of the first set due to a tornado warning through the heart of Defiance County, but play resumed after a short warmup period for both teams. The opening set went back-and-forth with seven ties before DC pulled away with points in 5 of 6 serves that boosted a 25-21 win.

Defiance showed its resilience in set 2 after erasing a 17-13 deficit and rallied to a 25-22 win to claim a 2-0 lead in the match. Errors piled up on Franklin to bring DC within 1 point, which saw back-to-back kills by Thaddeus Setla and Zander Culbertson to take a 20-19 lead. Brayden Ingram and Matthew Schulte each rocketed a pair of kills for Defiance to take a 22-21 lead before Schulte completed the set with the closing swing. Kaden Burgeson had a team-high 4 kills with 3 more blocks in the first two sets playing a strong middle. After a letdown in the third set to extend the match, the Yellow Jackets clinched the win with a 25-23 victory in Set 4. DC's 8-3 lead evaporated on 3 kills by Franklin plus an error by the Jackets, but the Purple and Gold never surrendered the lead in the last set. 

Schulte and Setla led the team in kills with 12 and 10, respectively. Burgeon logged a season-high 8 kills with just 2 attack errors while racking up 5 total blocks, also a team high. Oniel Alvarez was the top defender for the Jackets on 16 digs, followed by Setla 15. Setter Adam Sutton had 23 assists, followed by Kameron Engle's 10.

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The Yellow Jackets are off until next Wednesday against Mount Vernon Nazarene. It will be Senior Night for DC with first serve scheduled at 7 p.m.

-JACKETS-