In their home opener, the Jessup volleyball team came away with a three-set match win over the UC Merced Bobcats, 25-22, 25-12, & 25-22.
Despite the narrow margin of victory in set one, after breaking a 5-5 tie, the Warriors would go on to lead for the duration of the set. Down the stretch, the Bobcats would go on a late scoring run bringing the game within two points. However, head coach Tiger Shelton called a timeout for his team to refocus and Jessup then claimed two of the next three points for the win.
Set two was a different story as the Warriors were quick out of the gate as they led 7-2 before UC Merced called a timeout. Jessup was able to notch five of the final six points as they held their largest lead (13) after the final point was scored, 25-12.
Looking to close things out in set three, the Warriors found themselves down early, 5-6.
Vendela Williams would log one of her 8 kills to tie the game and that kickstarted an 11-1 scoring run as Jessup led 16-7. The Bobcats wouldn't go down without a fight as they put up a scoring run of their own bringing the match with two points with the scoreboard reading 24-22, advantage Warriors.
Ultimately, Taylor Jacky had the last laugh with the game-winning kill as Jessup locked in their first win of the season.
The final kill from Jacky was her eleventh and team-high while Hannah Henriksen finished with 9 and the aforementioned Williams had 8. Kacey Berger led the Warriors with 14 digs and Jacky had 9 of her own. Jessica Williams and Brianne Whitt had a team-high 17 and 11 assists respectively. And from the service line, Whitt had 3 aces and Berger ended with 2.
After the game, coach Shelton was happy to snag his first win of the year in front of their home crowd saying, "It feels great. We just wanted to play good ball and let the wins take care of themselves."
"We have a lot more to get better. Some of it is nerves and jitters but some of it we can clean up ourselves. So if we keep cleaning it up and keep getting better, believing in ourselves, our staff and school it will all take care of its self."
In the Warriors second game of their double-header, they took on No. 6 ranked Southern Oregon University Raiders but lost in a hard-fought four-set battle, 22-25, 25-19, 20-25, & 23-25.
The Warriors would lead for the majority of the first set but once the Raiders broke a 19-19 tie Jessup was unable to rally back as they went on to lose a close one, 25-22.
Set two was a narrow battle as each team continued to trade the lead as the set was tied eleven different times. This time around it was the Warriors who began to pull away after Michaela Zapata successfully blocked an attack that ignited a 6-0 scoring run. At the conclusion of the set, the Warriors would outlast the Raiders as they scored four of the last five points for the set win, 25-19.
The third set was off to a slow start for the Warriors as they surrendered the first five points. Jessup was able to stay strong and they fought their way back and tied the game, 12-12. However, the Raiders would again pull away and claim the set 25-20.
The fourth and final set was another nail-bitter that came down to the waning moments. It was a set that featured a multitude of ties and lengthy runs for each team but in the end, the Raiders prevailed as they defeated Jessup 25-23.
As the William Jessup Invitational continues, the Warriors will again play a double-header, first against the Simpson Redhawks at 1 PM followed by a matchup with the Oregon Tech Owls at 7 PM.
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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).
