ROCKLIN, Calif. - Heading into their final day at the Menlo College Volleyball Invite, the Warriors women's volleyball team knew they had to dig deep to overcome the heat and tough games that were played yesterday, and that is exactly what they did. The Warriors swept both opponents in Providence Christian (25-20, 29-27, 27-25) and Montana State - Northern(25-17, 25-21, 25-19) but not without a good fight!

"Heading into day 2 of this tourney we knew that we would need to dig deep to find energy to finish strong," head coach Shasta Millhollin said. "All of the teams in this tournament are strong, well coached teams." 

In their first match against Providence Christian, the Warriors took the first match at 25, but were pushed to extra points in both the second and third set, working hard for the victory.

"Providence Christian is a very well coached team with lots of experienced Southern California talent," Millhollin reflected. "We knew going into the match that their middles are strong and well utilized. We knew we needed to execute offensively to balance out their offensive production in the middle."

Leading the offensive forces for the Warriors was Taylor Jacky with 15 kills followed by Vendela Williams with 12 and sneaking her way in for 6 kills was setter Jessica Williams, also with 41 assists.

"We were down big time in the 3rd set and came back and won 27-25," said Millhollin. "This is a true testament to the mental toughness of our team and we are pumped!" 

Heading into the final game of the day and tournament, the Warriors took on Montana State-Northern, both hungry to end the day on a good note heading back home.

"MSUN is a big, physical team, we knew that they would be tough to beat," stated Millhollin. 

Continuing their momentum from the earlier match, the Warriors set their standards high for the final game and putting in the work to finish strong. Jacky (14) and Vendela (10) led the team attacking the net with assistance from one of the top NAIA setters in the country Jessica who finished game two with 37 assists.

"We set an offensive goal of 10+ kills per set in order to continue to keep working on our offensive production," coach reflected. "We crushed this goal and stayed on task all match long to win in 3 straight sets."

 The Warriors defeated MSUN in three sets to finish the Menlo Tournament 3-1 and improving to 10-3 overall as they head into their final non-conference matchups this week. Tuesday Jessup will host UC Santa Cruz at 5 pm in Warrior Arena.

"Once again, the most important thing that happened this weekend is that our bench continued to step up on and off the court to help us win," Millhollin concluded. "Our team's ability to put the team first and choose WE>me is unparalleled. As a coach, I could not be more thrilled with this!"  
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)