DC's hot start fizzles to five-set loss

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance Yellow Jackets hosted the first school's first-ever home conference game as a member of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference and suffered a tough five-set loss to the Lawrence Tech Blue Devis at the Karl H. Weaner Center on Friday.

The Yellow Jackets (6-7, 0-2 WHAC) battled back and forth with the Blue Devils after a dominant win in the first set, winning 15 of the first 20 points of the match. The Blue Devils (5-4, 3-1 WHAC) countered by winning the second in a tight 25-23 set. However, Defiance responded with an early run in the third set which fueled a 25-18 win and closed it out with a four-point run. 

THE TURNING POINT
The Blue Devils came out in the fourth set going on a 7-3 run that broke an 8-8 tie to build the lead. They closed out the fourth with 6 of the last 7 points and won convincingly, 25-15. With this, Lawrence Tech was able to carry the momentum into the fifth set, where they won the match with a 15-9 final set after winning the first five points of the set after starting with a 5-0 lead. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Jamia Murray led the Jackets in kills with 15 followed closely behind by Chaney Brodbeck with 14. It was the highest total of the season for each player. Gabby Rodriguez also added 11 kills to give Defiance three attackers with double-digit kills.
• Jaelyn Tomoletz had an efficient night on the attack a .312 kill percentage. She also added up five total blocks, including three solo blocks.
• Shelby Clements led the team in digs with 16 as the libero.
• Amino Chamoun and Kylie Anderson combined for 35 assists, led by Chamoun's 18.
• The Yellow Jackets had their most kills of the season with 54 

UP NEXT
The Jackets continue their back-to-back home weekend with a 2 p.m. match on Saturday against Rochester Christian University at the Karl H. Weaner Center.

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