Porter Powers DC to Pair of Wins at DC Invitational

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The 2009 Defiance College Invitational started with a bang for the Yellow Jackets on Friday, as DC rallied for a four-set win over Siena Heights, before edging Huntington in a thrilling five-set affair. 

Defiance squared off with the Saints from Siena Heights in the opening match of the 10th-Annual DC Invitational and let a late lead slip away in the opening set to suffer a 25-23 defeat. DC rallied back behind a blistering performance from Sara Porter, who tattered the SHU defense for 18 kills in the final three sets to lead the Jackets back with 25-20, 25-21, 25-19 victories. 

Porter ended the match with 24 kills in 47 swings for a .383 hitting percentage and accounted for over 46 percent of DC's kills in the contest. Danyel Lipps was the only other Jacket to crack double figures by adding 13 kills to go with 14 digs and three blocks. Heather Bradshaw led the squad with 19 digs, while Marlea Rolander and Jessica Tietje each picked up five total blocks. 

The nightcap turned out to be the best of the day, as Huntington and Defiance locked up for a grueling five-set match, which DC eventually won by a 18-25, 25-13, 25-22, 20-25, 19-17 score. 

The Foresters took control early in the decisive fifth set, charging to a 9-5 advantage and holding the four-point spread at 12-8, before their 18th service error of the match was followed by a Tietje ace and an Ashlyn Howell kill to cut the HU lead to 12-11. 

Yet another Huntington service error was followed by a Forester hitting miscue to draw Defiance even at 13-13 and a Lipps kill stalled the potential game-winning point for Huntington and tied the match at 15-15. 

Defiance would then see match points slip away at 16-15 and 17-16, before finishing off the win with back-to-back daggers from Lipps and Porter to secure the 19-17 victory. 

Porter led the offense once again with 14 kills, while Rolander added 11 and Lipps ended with eight. The Jackets played large at the net, racking up 12 team blocks, behind six more from Rolander and five from Tietje. 

Defiance (4-3) joined Concordia as the two unbeatens after the opening day of action. Those two will face off with a possible DC Invitational championship up for grabs, when they take the court at 12:00 pm on Saturday. The Jackets will then play their fourth and final match of the weekend, with a 2:00 pm contest against Marygrove.