RICHMOND – The Earlham College volleyball team continued its pursuit for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title with a sweep of Defiance College on Wednesday evening. 

The Quakers improved to 12-11 (5-2 HCAC) while the Yellow Jackets fell to 3-17 (0-6 HCAC)

After the day's action, Earlham has sole possession of third place in the conference standings behind undefeated Transylvania and Mount St. Joseph. 

Liv Kyrk flashed her high-flying offensive playstyle with 11 kills on just one error for a .556 attack percentage. The junior from Cardington, Ohio also got in on three assisted blocks. Maria Young hit double-digit kills for the fourth straight game with an attack percentage of .241. She also added three blocks and two aces. 

Erin Wagner dished out a game-high 31 assists and led the match in aces with four. Jen Shamel led the backline with 20 digs and added three assists. 

The Quakers averaged a .284 hitting percentage as a team,and held Defiance to a measly .020 in the match. 

The Yellow Jackets got out to a 10-4 lead in the opening set before the Quakers turned things around. A kill from Aniyah Harrington started off a run of eight straight points for the home squad to lead 19-14. Earlham then outscored Defiance 6-2 to end the set. 

The Earlham offense wasted no time in the second frame, and jumped out with an early 15-2 run. The Quakers got going again later in the set with a 7-0 to end the set with a commanding lead. 

The third set was competitive from both sides before the Yellow Jackets hit a 6-0 run to lead EC 14-11. Unphased, Earlham played lights out on both sides of the ball and only allowed one more point from the visitors the remainder of the match. EC scored a 14-1 run with serves from Lauren Newcomer and Young to squash the Yellow Jackets 25-15. 

The Quakers will take a break from conference play to compete in the Red and Green Invitational hosted by Washington University St. Louis over the weekend. Earlham is scheduled to take on the likes of Grinnell, Wisconsin Platteville, and the hosts at the tournament. EC will then return to conference action at Rose-Hulman on Wednesday at 7 pm.