ROCKLIN, Calif. - The Lady Warriors finished their home stint for the season in style celebrating the four graduating seniors and playing a five-set thriller that kept fans on the edge up their seat through the final point! Coming back after losing the first two sets to visiting Hope International, the Warriors took it to extra points in the deciding set but were unable to finish on top losing 2-3 (16-25, 18-25, 25-13, 26-24, 21-19) to the Royals. 

"It was great to honor our seniors- Kassidy, Claudia, Audrey, and our student assistant Meghan," head coach Shasta Millhollin said, "Hope is a veteran team with tons of experience. We knew this match would be tough and forcing a 5th set after being down 0-2 is huge!"

Unable to catch up with the Royals momentum in the first two sets, the Warriors knew they had to battle in order to gain ground in the third game and that's exactly what they did with an opening 5-0 start.  

Maintaining the large lead, the Warriors were up by 10 (19-9) before the Royals hit double digits and continued to tack on the points to finish the set with a big kill by Sydney Molander, leading attacker on the night. 

Still down 2-1 headed into the fourth set, Hope came out strong with an early 6-3 lead but not before sophomore Alicia Borges hit the service line to lead the Warriors on a 6-0 run to go up 9-6 with a kill by senior Kassidy Heuvelhorst and an ace for Borges.

The Royals would battle back to even it up 20-20 late in the set with their own 5-0 count, but the Warriors remained composed to take the final three extra points of the set to even the game 2-2.

In what could have been anyone's game, the fifth set changed leads 9 times was tied 10 times before the Royals rolled through the final 3 points for the 21-19 victory.

Millhollin was proud of her team's performance and heart in tonight's five-set battle, "We are playing teams that are really tough and continuing to fight through each match. We know that perseverance is the key and we are looking forward to grinding out these last couple of weeks!"

The Warriors will hit the road for their final two regular-season matches next week, first up nationally ranked Westmont on Friday, followed by The Master's University on Saturday.   
William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat).