TURLOCK, Calif. – Jessup's five-set luck from a week ago seems to have changed, and for the better, as they came out on top Friday in a back-and-forth match. Beginning the Stanislaus State Tournament against UC Merced, Jessup battled to the wire to pick up their second straight victory.
The Warriors (2-3) are on the right side of a battle to the distance after their first two matches of the season saw them fall in five sets. The first was a reverse sweep by Stanislaus State, and then Jessup battled back from down 2-0 to force a fifth set before falling to Dominican.
Head coach
Kyle Steele spoke about overcoming the fifth set in his postgame comments. "I'm very pleased to get the fifth set monkey off of our back. We were really steady in receiving for most of the day, and that gave us the chance to win as the offense came and went. Proud of a good team win, and it did take everybody."
Steele called on 14 players to contribute in Friday's match, with all but two appearing in multiple sets.
Eliana Sheridan led the attack for Jessup as she racked up a season-high 14 kills.
Taylor MacCuish was right behind with 13. Freshman
Kailia Phillips added eight in four sets of action.
Jessup opened up the day with a 25-22 victory in the first set, but UC Merced bounced back with a 25-18 showing in the second set. The two teams then kept the trend going, as Jessup won the third 25-20 before UCM extended the match with a 25-21 victory in the fourth.
Set five saw the Bobcats claim the first three points, but Jessup settled in with a 6-0 run with Sheridan at the service line for five of those points. A 4-0 run for the Bobcats later in the set would put UCM back on top, but Jessup finished strong, winning the last four points to secure a 15-12 victory.
The Warriors posted 60 kills to 49 by UC Merced. Jessup also led in assists (58) and digs (87). Kepa did the bulk of the setting with 34 of those assists, and libero
Neena Dimas led defensively with 24 digs. Sheridan also added 18 digs to her impressive afternoon.
Jessup's trip to Turlock continues tomorrow as the Warriors will play two more times. The day begins with a 9 a.m. match against Chico State and then ends at 2:30 p.m. with a rematch with Stanislaus State.
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Jessup University is a provisional member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Instagram & X).
