Volleyball Wins Conference Opener; Patridge Breaks Record

The Defiance College volleyball team had their home/conference opener Saturday, September 30th, against Franklin College. The Yellow Jackets were able to battle through a tough five sets to beat the Grizzlies, making their record 1-0 in HCAC play.

The Jackets started out set one tied at 7-7, but quickly fell behind due to multiple kills from different Grizzlies, and errors from different Jackets. Defiance lost the first set 19-25. In the second set, the Jackets came out fighting hard, starting with a 7-1 lead. Franklin was then able to catch up, tying the score at 14, but Defiance fought back and won set two 25-20. Set three was another good start for the Jackets, as they came out taking advantage of Franklin errors, scoring 9-4.  The two teams battled back a forth for a few points when Defiance finally ran away with the lead, winning set three 25-18. Set four was a real struggle for the Yellow Jackets, with many errors from different Jackets causing a 6-16 deficit. Though Defiance was able to come back making the score 15-17, they were not able to push past the Grizzlies, and lost 17-25. The fifth set was a battle from the beginning with the two teams tying the score at 5, 10, and again at 15. It came down to a final Yellow Jacket kill and Grizzly error that won the set for Defiance, 17-15.

Offensively for the Jackets, Marissa Windau had a team-best 16 kills on the day, with Madison Hollis recording a team-high 16 assists. Sydney Unger also had two service aces on the day. From the defensive end, Jaidyn Patridge had a phenomenal game, with a record-breaking 48 digs in a single game. Emotional words from Co-Captain Marissa Windau after the game were, “I’m just so proud of everybody!” The Yellow Jackets will be back in action when they travel to Earlham College Wednesday, October 4th, at 7pm.

Written by Michaela Bauer