GLENDALE, Ariz. – All was seemingly lost for the Warriors Friday night as they looked to be taking their second consecutive loss. Staring a sweep dead in the eye, Jessup produced one of the great comebacks in program history, fighting their way to a 3-2 win over Arizona Christian.
 
Head coach Tiger Shelton, noticeably excited after the match, said of his team's performance, "This was a good win for them to go out there like that and come back and have enough grit. It's a rare time that I use the word grit because I think it's extremely overused. Everybody uses it as a way to motivate, but grit is an amazing word that applies only at certain times, and I would say this is one of those times."
 
The win comes less than a week after Jessup's six-match win streak was ended in five sets to Menlo College. Jessup now sits at 9-6 in conference play.
 
It looked to be a quick night for the Warriors in their trip to Glendale. Arizona Christian narrowly won the first set, 25-23, and followed it up with a 25-21 victory in the second to put victory within a finger's reach.
 
With their backs against the wall, Jessup came out swinging.
 
"It just came down to, look, it's all emotion right now," said Shelton of his team's mindset trailing 2-0. "Like, you just have to play the game and not worry about your mistakes and not worry about what they're doing, and if they get a blocker for stuff, they just go play. And it did. So it was great."
 
Trailing 20-15 in the third, it seemed only a matter of time before the Firestorm would start celebrating on their home floor. But then a 5-0 Jessup run occurred, evening the score at 20. Two kills from Sydney Hancock and a Mallory Pazin ace would then cap off a second run by Jessup, giving them the set, 25-23.
 
There was hope for a comeback after all.
 
ACU again looked to put Jessup away, this time in the fourth as they jumped to a 4-0 lead, but back came the Warriors to score eight of the next ten points. Tied at 19 late in the set, Jessup strung together a 6-1 run, capped off with back-to-back Madalyn Miller kills to even the score and force a decisive fifth set.
 
It was anybody's match at this point, as the first one to 15 would walk away a winner.
 
Both sides traded point-for-point, setting up a 6-6 tie early. But then the Warriors started their climb, scoring seven of the next eight, aided by a pair of Taylor MacCuish kills, to go ahead 13-7. The final blow came on a kill from Marina Gonzalez, sending the Jessup bench storming onto the court as Jessup had done it, completing the comeback to win 15-9.
 
Shelton noted that he has had some epic wins over his coaching career, but for his time at Jessup, tonight topped them all. "It's definitely one of the best. You know, it's a great feeling you're at the end of the season. Everybody's trying to win games because we're all trying to make the playoffs. We need this game. I mean, it doesn't get any easier."
 
The Warriors were led in kills by Gonzalez (12) and MacCuish (12), while Lauren Toon led the way with a team-high 17 digs. Alexis Kepa led with a match-high 28 assists.
 
Jessup now sits tied with Vanguard for third in the GSAC standings, but due to their season sweep of the Lions, the Warriors win the head-to-head tiebreaker. Jessup is just half a game behind second-place Life Pacific.
 
The Warriors will resume their Arizona trip tomorrow afternoon when they take on OUAZ at 1 p.m. in Surprise.  
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).