Author: Hanna Young

The Defiance College volleyball team traveled to Bluffton University Wednesday evening, October 11th. The Yellow Jackets dropped their first conference match, making their record 3-1 in HCAC play.

The Yellow Jackets started out slow, finding themselves in a 1-5 deficit. They quickly came back to a 7-6 dominance, taking advantage of Beaver errors. The teams battled back and forth for the rest of the set until Bluffton was able to push forward, winning set one 17-25. In set two, the Yellow Jackets fought hard against the Beavers, tying the score at 5 and again at 8. Bluffton was able to hold a lead the rest of the game, even though Defiance was not far behind. The Jackets were not able to push past the Beavers, losing set two 21-25. The third set was a struggle for the Yellow Jackets, never making it to double digits. Bluffton was able to record many kills and take advantage of multiple Jacket errors, winning the final set 9-25.

Jessi Davis lead the offensive side for the night with a total of six kills, with Danielle Robbins not far behind with five kills. Emma Seitz led the blocking with two blocks on the night. Morgan Porter led the defense with 16 digs and Jaidyn Patridge had 14 for the night. When asked about the game, Patridge had to say, “We have to start focusing more at practice. We need to follow the game plan Coach gives us and step up our energy a lot in order to gain momentum. Consistency is also a huge factor that we are slowly starting to get the hang of, but we have to carry it through the entire match.” Defiance continues HCAC play at Hanover on Saturday evening.

Written by Michaela Bauer

The Defiance College Men’s Soccer team joined high school and college teams across the nation in the United Soccer Coach’s Play with Pride week. From September 18-24, soccer teams across the nation would show their support for players and coaches who identify as LGBTQ by switching out their shoe laces for rainbow colored ones. The Jackets changed their laces for their HCAC-opener versus Franklin on September 30th where the boys also brought home a victory, beating the Grizzlies 2-0.

Dan Woog, a chair of the United Soccer Coach’s LGBT Coaches and Allies Member Group, speaks on the widespread diversity within the world of soccer. He states that, “diversity includes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender coaches, players, support staff, referees and fans. This is a simple, effective and very colorful way to send the message that every person, associated with every team, is valued and respected.”

Nick Kleptz, a senior for the Yellow Jackets, stated that “the reason we chose to participate in this event was that we wanted to support the LGBTQ community. What better way than to support the cause while doing what we all love to do as well”.

Professional teams have also participated in showing their support for the LGBTQ community as well. For example, in June the US Men’s and Women’s National teams wore jerseys with rainbow numbers to show their support.

For more information regarding Playing with Pride, please visit https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/web/web/News/Articles/August_2017/United_Soccer_Coaches_launches_Play_With_Pride_initiative.aspx.

Written by Jordan Osborne

(Defiance, OH) Defiance College’s Women’s Soccer team hosted the Transylvania Pioneers during homecoming weekend in yet another HCAC matchup for our Lady Jackets. The Pioneers traveled from Lexington, Kentucky, coming into the game with a record of 3-6-2, while our Jackets came in with a record of 1-8.

DCWS had a pretty eventful day, even prior to the game starting. Two of their very own players were represented on the Homecoming Court. Whitney Webb represented the sophomore class while Kassie Memmer was one of the nominees for Senior Homecoming Queen. Congratulations to those two!

They continued this momentum with a very evenly matched first half. The game was a grudge match the whole first half, neither side budging on who was going to allow the first goal. Both sides were able to put together good runs, and move the ball well, but stellar defense and excellent by both goalkeepers held the match at 0-0 for the first half.

Defiance finished the first half with 2 shots on goal, while the Pioneers were able to muster 9 shots, all which the keeper, Madi Bowman, was able to knock away. The second half was not as well for the Jackets though.

Transylvania was able to strike early in the second half, sneaking two shots past the keeper. The first came in the 50th minute, and the second came shortly after in the 52nd minute. Defiance attempted to fight back, putting 5 more well placed shots on goal, but just could not find the back of the net.

After the game, we caught up with sophomore Lauren Oglesbee, who stated this, “The best teams have chemistry. They communicate with each other and they sacrifice personal glory for the common goal. Nothing will break our bond, no matter what the outcome. Even though we lost, nothing will break our bond we have with one another.”

The Lady Jackets continue with their conference play against the Earlham Quakers on Wednesday, October 11th at home at 3:30 PM. DCWS would love the support, and if you see someone on the team, wish them good luck! Go Jackets!

Written by Zac Bires

The Defiance College volleyball team hosted Mount St. Joseph on Homecoming, Saturday afternoon, October 7th. The Yellow Jackets were able to beat the Lions in four sets, pushing their record 3-0 in HCAC play.

The Yellow Jackets started out the first set battling back and forth with the Lions. Mount St. Joe took advantage of Defiance errors, and ran away with the lead, winning 15-25. In the second set, Defiance came back wanting revenge against the Lions. The Jackets recorded kills and service aces while taking advantage of MSJ errors and won set two 25-16. Defiance started out set three with a 10-5 lead. Kills from Brooke Plummer, Danielle Robbins, Sydney Unger, Jenni Davis, and Jessi Davis helped push the Jackets to a 20-14 lead. Unfortunately, Yellow Jacket errors allowed the Lions to catch up and tie the set at 22. Defiance was able to push forward and take set three, 25-22. The Jackets came back battling hard in the fourth set. The two teams went back and forth with the score being close through the whole set. Defiance was able to push on toward the end and win the set 25-18.

Jenni Davis lead Defiance’s offense with 11 kills on the day, and Morgan Porter had two service aces. Jaidyn Patridge lead the defense with 17 digs, while Sydney Unger and Morgan Porter were not far behind with 16 and 15 digs, respectively. Senior Jaidyn Patridge commented on the Jackets play in the first set, “I feel that our energy was not present in the first set and we also were not being aggressive and utilizing the game plan efficiently. Then once we started listening to coach and believing in ourselves, then that was a huge game changer, and we had momentum and also the home court advantage.” Winning against MSJ boosted the Jackets record to 3-0 in conference play. “Being undefeated in conference means that we still have a huge target on our backs and we have to continue to push through every single point, set, and match in order to win the rest of our games.” said Patridge. The Jackets are back in play Wednesday evening, October 11th, at Bluffton University at 7pm.

Written by Michaela Bauer

(Defiance, OH) Defiance College’s Lady Jackets traveled to their rival Bluffton to take on the Beavers on Wed, October 4th. This game was a grudge match for the Jackets, winning in overtime the previous year. Defiance came into this game at 1-7, and 0-1 in HCAC play, while Bluffton came in with a record of 1-8, while also being 0-1 in HCAC.

The Yellow Jackets came into the first half with a ton of energy. They put together great runs, moved the ball very well, and were able to put 12 shots on goal, yet none of them were able to find the back of the net. This did not deter the determination of the Jackets, as they continue to put together great runs.

Bluffton was able to find the back of the net in the first half though, with one of their 13 shots sneaking past the keeper in the 11th minute. The Jackets continued to fight tooth and nail, and went into the half with a score that was surprisingly 1-0 with how well each team was playing offensively.

The second half started off in a way that the Jackets did not want, with Bluffton scoring very quickly, within the first 18 seconds. This goal was followed up 2 minutes later, with a goal by the same girl, to give Bluffton a 3-0 lead.

The two quick goals woke the Jackets up again, and they continue to make good runs and try to put something past Bluffton’s keeper. The lone goal did not come til the 88th minute though, off the foot of Senior Kassie Memmer into the corner of the net.

The Jackets fell with a final score of 3-1, and fall to 0-2 in conference, and 1-8 on the season. They look to turn things around this upcoming Saturday, a day full of homecoming festivities. They play at 3:30 against the Transylvania Pioneers.

Also, a member of the Women’s team is on the Homecoming Court. Senior Kassie Memmer is up for Homecoming Queen, so do not be afraid to come see the festivities! As always, tell a DCWS good luck, and Go Jackets!

Written by Zac Bires

The Defiance College volleyball team played at Earlham College Wednesday evening, October 4th. The Yellow Jackets fought hard and were able to beat the Quakers in five sets, making their record 2-0 in HCAC play.

The Yellow Jackets started the first set slow, finding themselves behind 1-5. They fought hard the entire set, but was never able to take a lead and lost 23-25. In set two, Defiance came back strong, putting up a 7-2 lead. The Jackets continued to fight hard with revenge, and won the second set 25-16. The third set was a battle between the two teams from the beginning. Defiance and Earlham tied the 5 and again at 9 points. Earlham then took the lead until Defiance was able to tie it again at 20. The Jackets were able to fight back with kills from Morgan Porter, Emma Seitz, Brooke Plummer and Jessi Davis and a service ace by Sydney Unger. Defiance won set three 29-27. Set four was all Earlham due to multiple Jacket errors. The Quakers won 10-25. Set five was a slow start for Defiance, finding themselves down 3-7. They quickly were able to come back and tie the game at 7. At that point, it was a back and forth battle between the teams, tying the game at 12. The Jackets then ran away with the lead, winning set five 15-12.

One the offensive side, Morgan Porter and Jessi Davis lead the Jackets with 14 kills a piece and Madison Hollis recorded 43 assists. Jaidyn Patridge lead the defense for the Jackets with 26 digs. When asked about the game, co-captain Sydney Unger said, “At the end of the day a win is a win, it may not have been pretty, but we still got the win.” The Yellow Jackets continue their conference play at home on Saturday. “To prepare for MSJ we will continue to work on hitting our shots and reading the hitter on defense.” explained Unger. Defiance returns home on Saturday, October 7th, for another conference match-up against Mount St. Joseph at 1pm.

Written by Michaela Bauer

(Defiance, OH) The Defiance College Women’s Soccer Team opened up their conference season against a tough Franklin opponent this past weekend. Franklin came into the game against the Yellow Jackets with a record of 5-3, while our Ladies had a record of 1-7 coming in. As stated in previous articles, the Jackets had extremely high hopes for this season, and this game was a great test to start off the conference season.

As most coaches say, every team starts off 0-0 once conference starts. Every team has a clean slate, and this is the time that matters. DCWS came out playing like this, putting together an incredible first half. The ladies were able to put 6 shots on goal, along with other shots that were near the goal, and putting together great runs throughout the half.

DCWS could not find the back of the net in the first half though. The lady Grizzlies did find the back of the net only once in the first half though, with a goal coming in the 32nd minute. The well played  first half had DCWS fired up going into the second half, but Franklin struck first, and struck quickly.

Franklin was able to find the back of the net within 25 seconds of the start of the second half, bobbing and weaving in between defenders before bolting one past a diving keeper. They were able to add on another goal 3 minutes later.

Defiance was not out yet though, while they answered with a goal of their own from freshman Taylor Deppert in the 54th minute. She was able to get on a break away, and shoot it past a jumping keeper. This was Deppert’s first goal of her college career, congratulations Taylor!

This did not phase Franklin though, as they were able answer with 4 more, one in the 71st, 83rd, 85th, and 89th. After the game, we were able to catch up with sophomore defender Lauren Perry. She had this to say, “The Franklin game didn’t go as planned for the start of our conference season, but the way we played in the first half of the game really made me excited for the rest of conference play. We need to keep moving forward, going game by game.”

Next, Defiance takes on the rival Bluffton Beavers at Bluffton on Wednesday, October 4th at 3:30 PM. As always, if you see a DCWS player, do not be afraid to say good luck, and show your support. Go Jackets!

Written by Zac Bires

Have you ever found yourself in an unfamiliar spot in life and didn’t quite know how to deal with it? Is this normal or am I the only one going through it?  Recently, I’ve found myself faced with situations and emotions that I’d never had to deal with before and attempting to dive right in was probably not the best idea. After some serious reconsideration, I decided to get my thoughts out the best way I know how (writing) and proceed from there. Here’s what I came up with to guide through life’s uncertainties!

By now, although knowing for quite some time, I’ve finally comprehended the fact that life can and will throw things your way simply to throw you off. Knowing this information, sitting around and waiting to be hit can go hand in hand with diving right in as probably not the best idea. I know, I know. I can see you asking yourself, “How am I supposed to do anything else when I don’t even know what is coming my way?” Well, my good old friend Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” As college students, I feel as if we can all agree that the scariest tests are the ones that you don’t have time to prepare for and the ones that you don’t know what to prepare. Have you ever had that one professor that gave you minimal information regarding the exam, forcing you to be prepared for whatever? Life is very much the same way. With tests challenging your relationships, mental health, finances, etc., it’s important to remember that the main subject is you and the more you know about the subject, the better prepared for the test you’ll be!

“Spend a little time with me, get to know me, and fall in love.” -Nate Hicks

Taking that philosophy and applying it to yourself has such great potential to be life changing! Having boyfriends, girlfriends, and relationships with people in general is amazing and makes life a little easier and I’m sure you realize the amount of work those take to remain healthy. What if you put an equal, if not more, amount of time and effort into yourself? Throughout life, things change, people change, and feelings change too. Another thing that won’t remain the same is you. As a constantly growing individual it’s important to stay up to date with yourself and care for yourself accordingly and everything else will fall into place. Oh, and you just might fall in love.

You are a beautiful creation made differently than literally everyone else on the planet. Knowing that, it’s crucial to understand and accept that everyone is going through something different, experiencing, interacting, and interpreting life differently and you can’t judge yourself (or others) based on your perception of someone else’s life, status, position, beauty, etc. Love yourself!

“Being in love with yourself isn’t always loving everything about yourself, it’s accepting yourself and knowing and understanding what you need to work on to change and grow.” -Tess Homier MSW, LISW-S

When you know yourself, it makes loving yourself, through this bittersweet (maybe more bitter than sweet) and baffling life, so much easier. Give it a try. You’re worth it.

Written by Nate Hicks

(Defiance, OH) Defiance College Women’s Soccer team finished up their tough schedule before conference play last Saturday, 9/23, where they traveled to Berea, Ohio to take on the other Yellow Jackets of Ohio, Baldwin Wallace. DCWS was not the only team to make the trek to Berea, as Defiance College’s Men’s Soccer team also made the journey, along with the volleyball team being in the area for an OAC/ HCAC crossover.

DCWS came into the game excited with conference being right around the corner, and playing the last away game after a long week. The game started off in favor of Baldwin Wallace, with an early goal in the 13th minute, followed by two more, one in the 20th and one in the 36th. DCWS went into the half, trailing 3-0, and looking to turn it around.

During the first half, DCWS was not able to put a single shot goal, and that was the main focus of the 2nd half. Again, it was Baldwin Wallace who struck early though, putting a shot into the back of the net only 2 minutes into the second half.

BW was able to follow up with yet another in the 51st minute, and were squelched until the 83rd minute, where they were able to sneak one into the back of the net.

Due to stellar defense by BW, Defiance was not able to put anything together for the rest of the game, only having one shot on goal that was not able to reach the back of the net. They finished the game with 5 total saves, 3 in the first half and two more in the second half. They were not able to set up any corner kicks during the game, and had 11 fouls total.

After the game, Sophomore Goalkeeper Madi Bowman said, “The BW game, and all of our other non conference games, were good games to prep us for conference. I’m excited to start conference play because some of the other teams aren’t going to expect us to do very well based off of last year. That’s changed though, we are a different team this year. We are a better team, on and off the field.”

They have a much needed week off after a strong non-conference schedule. They continue their season next Saturday, the 30th, with the conference opener against Franklin College who is yet another strong opponent.

The ladies could use as much support as possible for this first home game, so come on out on what is supposed to be a beautiful day! There are plenty of events going on campus that day! As always, do not be afraid to tell the ladies good luck, and Go Jackets!

Written by Zac Bires

(Defiance, OH) The Defiance College Men’s Soccer team was one of several teams to travel to Berea, Ohio this weekend to play at Baldwin Wallace. They traveled with the Women’s soccer team for a pair of games, with the women’s at 4 and the men’s at 7. The Defiance College Volleyball team was also at Baldwin Wallace that weekend for the OAC/HCAC Crossover.

DCMS had a lot of confidence going into this game, having one of the best starts in school history! Congratulations to them! They went into the game 4-2-2 while Baldwin Wallace came in at 3-5.

The game started off as a grudge match, until the 29th minute, when a booming shot by one of Baldwin Wallace’s players snuck past keeper Clay Musgrave. This goal did not stun the Men’s team though, as they were able to answer.

In the 49th minute, Defiance was able to put in a goal of their own, scored by Senior Andrew Brown, and assisted freshman Liam Hall. Baldwin Wallace was able to quickly answer though, just 5 minutes later, followed by yet another goal in the 58th minute.

Defiance dropped this game 3-1 as a final, only being able to put 5 total shots on goal while BW was able to put 25 total on goal. Musgrave saved several of those shots on goal, and saved the lead from being extended past 3 goals for BW.

After the game, Senior forward Christian Meister did not see this loss as a complete bad thing. He stated, “It was a tough loss no doubt, but the way we played hard the whole game showed promise towards achieving our goals this season and we are looking good heading into conference.”

The men do have one more match before they start their conference play against Thiel, at Thiel on Wed, 9/27. Thiel will come into the game with a record of 3-5.

The men open up their conference play after the women on Saturday at 3:30 against Franklin. They would love to have support for their first home conference match, so do not be afraid to come out and go from event to event Saturday, as the women’s team is home, along with football and volleyball!

If you see a men’s soccer player around campus, do not be afraid to say good luck and congratulations on the good start. As always, Go Jackets!

Written by Zac Bires