ROCKLIN, Calif. - The Warriors took the court for their home opening game and started fast but ultimately lost the match in five sets to the Oregon Tech Owls.
 
Head coach Tiger Shelton was pleased with what he saw in the first two sets, saying, "We played great in the opening two sets. I really liked what I saw, but unfortunately, we started making mistakes as the match went on." 
 
Set one was in favor of the Owls for the majority of the early going, but the Warriors stayed the course. Trailing 14-12, Jessup put together a scoring stretch to take the lead off a Taylor MacCuish and Taylor Tarble block, 15-14. A few points later in the set, the Warriors used another scoring run to take the lead for good. Botagoz Joslin found Ashanti Grayer, and she was able to put the finishing touches on the set as the Warriors won 25-21.
 
The second set was similar to the first, with the Owls controlling the action early. Again the Warriors found themselves down 14-12, but the next three points went to Jessup as Mary Padilla logged a kill to take the lead. From there, the lead changed twice, and the Warriors claimed five of the final seven points to win the set 25-21.
 
In the third set, things started to unravel for the Warriors as the Owls scored seven answered points to take a 14-5 lead. Jessup had a nice run, scoring three points consecutively, but the lead was too much, and the Owls claimed set three, 25-14. The fourth set was an even bigger hurdle for the Warriors as Oregon Tech won 25-10.
 
The fifth and final set was close as the lead ended up changing on five occasions. Unfortunately, for the Warriors, it was the Owls who scored four of the final five points to take the set 15-11 to win the match.
 
Padilla led the Warriors with 18 kills, and also with double-digit kills was Taylor McCuish with 13. The Warriors had a trio of players with a pair of service aces, Mallory Pazin, Jasmine Pinon, and McCuish. Pazin and Joslin led the team in assists with 19 and 18, respectively. Defensively for Jessup, Padilla led the charge with 18 digs while Madison Marlow had 14 and Lauren Toon ended with 11.
 
Shelton went on to say, "We are young and made some young mistakes today." He added, "We will learn and move on from this and be ready for Tuesday's game against PUC."
 
The Warriors will be back on their home floor next Tuesday at 3 p.m. as they'll host the Pacific Union College Pioneers.
   
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).