MERCED, Calif. - The Warriors hit the court for a mid-week matchup against non-conference opponent UC Merced, looking to overcome their three-game skid. The volleyball team did just that defeating the Bobcats after losing the first set, 3-1 (25-27, 25-22, 25-17, 25-15) to advance to 13-6 overall.  

"Today was a really good day for us, anytime you travel over 2 hours for a match you're going out of your comfort zone," head coach Shasta Millhollin reflected. "Merced packed out the gym and their fans were brutal, which is exactly the type of environment we want to work on playing in."

The Warriors continue to overcome the slow start by battling back not only set-by-set but point-by-points. UC Merced went on an early run to be up 7-3, but the Warriors chipped away at the lead in the first set to even it up 12-12, and then even later, 25-25 before the Bobcats got the final two points to take the set in extra rallies, 27-25.

From there the Warriors would go on to win three-straight sets but it wasn't without hard work and battling for each point delivered over the net. 

"UC Merced is a very physical team and we had to work hard to get the win," said Millhollin. "We are proud of our team for working together to get the win tonight."

Leading the forces tonight was junior transfer Danielle Schoen who had a career-high 16 kills, followed by Vendela Williams and Sydney Molander both adding another 11 kills each and Kassidy Heuvelhorst right behind with 10. Jessica Williams continues to assist the team with her record-breaking sets, 49 on the books against the Bobcats.

"As a coaching staff we're very proud of the balanced effort across the board offensively and defensively," Millhollin concluded. "Our bench was exceptionally uplifting tonight which is the most important thing."

Tonight the Warriors had a total 59 kills to set a single-match top-3 record in program history. They will continue their quest for the best program records on Friday welcoming Westmont to Warrior Arena at 7 pm, followed by The Master's on Saturday at 2 pm.  
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).