GLENDALE, Ariz. – Jessup Volleyball headed to the desert for the start of Golden State Athletic Conference play, taking on the Arizona Christian Firestorm. Despite strong pushes in each set, the Warriors fell short, losing 3-0. Having split their four preseason matches, Jessup's record now stands at 2-3 overall.
 
Upon the conclusion of the match, Head Coach Tiger Shelton gave kudos to his opponent, saying, "First of all, Arizona Christian played a great game tonight. All the credit in the world goes to them." He continued with, "We are a young team, and we're trying to find our way. We will be good. It's just going to take a little time."
 
The first set opened with Ashanti Grayer notching the first point for the Warriors. From there, these two conference foes traded points as the set endured eight ties before it ended. After trailing 13-9, the Warriors continued to show their fight as their aggressive hitting on offense brought them back, tying things up, 15-15. Unfortunately, this would be the final tie of the set as ACU inched further away to win the set, 25-21.
 
Stumbling out of the gate in set two, the Warriors found themselves down 6-1 in quick fashion. As the set lingered on with the Firestorm leading by four, Madison Marlow gave the Warriors momentum with a service ace. Building off her terrific serve, Jessup brought the set within two points as they trailed 18-16. However, the momentum soon faded, with the set going ACU's way, 25-18.
 
Starting off the third set, it was a back and forth affair until Jessup was on the wrong side of a scoring run as they trailed 14-7. As they did all match long, the Warriors dug deep and sparked off a run of their own as they claimed seven of the next nine points, cutting the Firestorm lead to two, 16-14. Like the other sets, the late push wasn't quite enough, with Jessup losing 25-19.
 
Grayer had a double-digit kill performance with 10, while Mallory Pazin and Botagoz Joslin each had 12 assists on the night. On the defensive side, Madison Marlow ended with 14 digs, Mary Padilla had ten digs herself, and Taylor MacCuish posted six total blocks.
 
The Warriors will be back on the court soon, as they'll see the Firestorm on Wednesday at noon PST. The game can be live-streamed HERE.
   
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 and Instagram).