SURPRISE, Ariz. - The William Jessup Volleyball team has hit the road for their final road trip of the season for a pair of games in Arizona with their first game against the Ottawa University Spirit. Unfortunately for the Warriors, they were unable to kick start the road trip with a win as they lost in five sets, 25-18, 25-21, 21-25, 21-25, and 8-15. 

After the game concluded head coach Shasta Millhollin said, "We battled hard tonight and are proud of the effort we put in."

The Warriors came out hot to start things off as they took the first two sets. In the opening frame the Warriors were trailing 6-8 but then the hot streak started as they scored 14 unanswered points to take the lead 20-8. The Spirit, however, would go on a 10-3 run themselves late in the set to making things interesting as the Warriors still led 23-18. Mackenzie Reeder-Esparza would tack on the final kill to give the Warriors the set one win, 25-18. 

Starting off the second set the Warriors hit the ground running, scoring the opening five points. The Spirit would hang tough and giving the Warriors fits as the second frame had six different ties. Michaela Zapata would help break the final tie of the set with a kill that sparked the Warriors to a set victory, 25-21.

The third set was a mirror image of the second, however, this time the Warriors gave up the first five points and were playing from behind from the get-go. The Warriors wouldn't go quietly in the third set and after scoring four straight points late, the set was tied at 18. The late run wasn't enough and the Warriors would lose the set, 21-25. 

In the fourth set, the Warriors appeared primed to bounce back from their woes of the previous set as they led 6-3 early on. The fourth set was a seesaw affair and an attack error on the Spirit gave the Warriors a narrow 20-19 lead. However, the Warriors would only go on to score one more point in the set as they lost 21-25. 

The fifth and final set was a rocky start for the Warriors as they were down 1-8 to start things off. Unable to mount a comeback, the match was lost as the Warriors went down 8-15 in set five. 

Reeder-Esparza led the Warriors in kills with 14 and Vendela Williams and Zapata each ended the night with 12. Taylor Jacky finished with a team-high 3 aces as well as 36 digs while Alicia Borges was able to tally two aces herself. Taylor Tarble had a phenomenal showing as she stood tall on the front line with four blocks to lead her team. Madison Pelham and Brianne Whitt each had solid performances distributing the ball as they had 26 and 23 assists respectively. 

Coach Millhollin finished by saying, "We play ACU in less than 24 hours, so we have to quickly refocus and prepare for tomorrow." 

The Warriors will have a quick turnaround as they get set to take on Arizona Christian University on Saturday at 2 PM before returning home for their final three games. 
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).