FRESNO, Calif. – A new era of Jessup Women's Volleyball began on Friday, as the Warriors kicked off match number one as members of NCAA Division II. With two matches on the schedule at the Sunbird Classic in Fresno, both bouts went the distance as Jessup fell in two five-set thrillers.
Friday marked the beginning of head coach
Kyle Steele's tenure with the Warriors. Steele joined Jessup over the summer after a successful run as the men's volleyball coach at OUAZ in Arizona.
First on the schedule was a meeting with Stanislaus State, members of NCAA Division II's CCAA. A close first set saw Jessup edge out a 26-24 victory, and Jessup then followed that up with a 25-23 advantage in the second.
Trailing 2-0, Stanislaus put themselves back into the match with a dominating 25-13 victory in the third, and they followed it up with a 25-11 win in the fourth to force the winner-take-all fifth set.
A back-and-forth fifth set saw Jessup take a 9-8 lead at the midpoint, but a 7-1 run for Stanislaus ended the match, securing a reverse sweep.
Leading the match in kills in the opener was
Madalyn Miller, as the 2023 All-GSAC selection closed with 14.
Taylor MacCuish added nine, while
Taylor Dilley contributed eight. Newcomer
Neena Dimas led the team defensively with 16 digs.
Alexis Kepa contributed ten digs to pair with a match-leading 30 assists.
Following a short break, Jessup was back on the court as a non-conference matchup with Dominican was next on the schedule. The meeting with the Penguins offered Jessup an early look at the PacWest, as they will play four non-conference matches with PacWest opponents before the conference opener in Azusa on September 21.
Dominican controlled the tempo early as 25-15, and 25-21 wins put them ahead 2-0. The Warriors finally settled in to win set three, 25-20.
It looked like there would not be a second five-set match on Friday, as the Penguins sat on match point, 24-21, but four straight Jessup points put the Warriors ahead 25-24. After a Dominican point, a kill by Miller was followed by an attack error, as Jessup battled back to force the fifth.
With the Warriors looking to complete a reverse sweep of their own, the two sides traded points before a 3-0 run put Dominican ahead 11-7. Jessup responded with a 3-0 run of their own, but it wasn't enough as the fifth went in favor of Dominican, 15-12.
Paulina Harris led Jessup with 11 kills in match two. MacCuish and Miller each added ten. Dilley led the match with 24 digs.
The Warriors will regroup and return to action tomorrow as the Sunbird Classic resumes with two more contests. First up is a non-conference meeting with Fresno Pacific at 2 p.m., and then Jessup will end the weekend with a match against Academy of Art at 7 p.m.
Fans can tune into the action in Fresno
HERE.
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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).
