LIVONIA, Mich. - Madonna University (8-13) fell 3-0 to Defiance College (OH) (18-11) on Friday, Oct. 23, in Livonia, losing 25-21, 25-18, 25-22 despite mounting rallies in all three sets. The Crusaders stand at 5-7 in conference play.
Vivian Campbell, Sydney Stonerock and Gwen Clifford paced Madonna with seven kills apiece. Campbell hit .636 with no attack errors in 11 attempts, while Stonerock hit .235 and Clifford finished at .200. Addison Boven contributed 12 assists and 12 digs to help direct the offense.
Madonna erased a seven-point deficit in the opening set, climbing back from 15-8 to tie it at 19-19 on a Stonerock kill assisted by Boven. Defiance regained the lead with consecutive kills from Gabby Rodriguez and Taylor Craft, then finished by winning six of the final eight points. Chaney Brodbeck delivered the set-ending kill.
The Crusaders faced another early deficit in the second set as Defiance opened with five straight points, including two aces by Haley Hammer. Trailing 16-9, Madonna strung together consecutive Campbell kills, a Rylie Glass kill and a Kem Donnelly ace to pull within 16-13. Defiance answered with kills by Brynn Rodriguez and Shelby Clements. Madonna hit a match-best .219 in the set, but Defiance countered with 16 kills and a .343 hitting percentage.
Madonna led 4-2 in the third set after a combined block by Alyviah Wright and Stonerock preceded a Defiance attack error. Later, kills by Clifford and Donnelly, a combined block by Hope Schriber and Clifford and a Schriber solo block fueled a four-point run that tied the set at 10-10. Clifford's kill eventually pulled the Crusaders within 20-19 before Defiance scored three straight points. A Schriber-Clifford block and Donnelly kill narrowed the margin to 23-21. Defiance reached match point with a kill, and the teams exchanged service errors to end the match.
Schriber finished with four blocks, including two solo stops, while Wright added three blocks. Lexa Forti led Madonna with 13 digs, and Madelena Arriaga contributed 10. Donnelly supplied five kills, two aces and nine digs, while Glass finished with 11 assists. The Crusaders held advantages of 60-53 in digs and 7-6 in team blocks.
Defiance, now 7-6 in conference play, led 42-31 in kills and 9-4 in aces while hitting .191 to Madonna's .131. Hammer finished with 35 assists, and Gabby Rodriguez led all attackers with 13 kills on .400 hitting.
Madonna will be back in action on Wednesday, October 28, 2026 when they travel to Lima, Ohio to take on the University of Northwestern Ohio in a 7:00 PM WHAC matchup.
