Men's Volleyball falls in 4 against Defiance

(Rochester Hills, MI) - The Rochester Christian men's volleyball team continued its home stand, taking on the invading Yellow Jackets from Defiance. A highly contested battle on both sides saw the Warriors and Yellow Jackets battle through four sets, with the Yellow Jackets pulling out the 3-1 win. 

Defiance jumped out to an 11-4 lead to start the match, before RCU responded with their own 12-4 run. Xander Slate earned multiple kills in the run. The teams battled back and forth, tying six times, before DC earned the final two points. 

The second set had the Yellow Jackets once again move out to an 8-3 lead before the Warriors clawed their way back into the set. Josh Eaton would continue to add to his kill total with Jeremy Lee adding three kills as well. After RCU gained an 18-17 lead, the Yellow Jackets would score eight of the final nine points to earn the win. 

The third set saw teams battle all the way through, with the teams tying 10 times in the set. The first tie at 8-8 would happen following Jailen Tatum and Jonathan Chow earning blocks. Claudio Arato earned a couple of kills throughout the set. The set would go to extra points, with RCU earning a 29-27 win with the final three points coming from Xander Slate, Josh Eaton, and blocks by Tatum and Chow. 

Josh Eaton earned the first point of the eventual final set of the evening. After a back-and-forth start to the set, DC would earn eight straight points and 13 of 15 to take a commanding 21-13 lead. After a couple of RCU points, Defiance would be able to close out the set to claim the match. 

TOP PERFORMERS
Josh Eaton paced the offensive attack for the Warriors, with 20 kills (program record), while Xander Slate and Claudio Arato tallied nine and eight, respectively. Jonathan Chow added 42 assists (program record). 

Nehemiah Rosillo and Josh Eaton both tallied double-digit digs with 17 (program record) and 10, respectively. Jonathan Chow had three blocks in the game as well. 

UP NEXT

The Warriors will take on the Cougars from Mount Vernon Nazarene on Friday, February 20, at 7 PM.