COSTA MESA, Calif. – The Jessup University women's volleyball team completed a comeback on Friday evening at the Freed Center for Leadership and Service. The Warriors dropped the first two sets, then won the last three to beat Vanguard 3-2. They closed the match with an 18-16 fifth-set win, improving to 6-18 overall and 4-12 in PacWest play. The win avenges a 3-1 loss to the Lions on Sept. 11 in Rocklin, snaps a one-match skid after Wednesday's sweep at Westmont, and is Jessup's third five-set victory of the season. Vanguard fell to 7-16 and 5-11.
Jessup led for stretches of the opening set. The Warriors were up 20-18 before Vanguard ran off a 7-3 finish for a 25-23 win. Jessup hit .152 with 11 kills in the set and matched Vanguard's offense with five team blocks. The second set got away from them. Jessup managed just 4 kills against 7 errors for a -.091 attack percentage, and Vanguard cruised 25-15, closing with five straight points.
The third set changed the match. Jessup hit .312 with 12 kills and only 2 errors, and it held Vanguard to a .057 attack percentage and 8 kills in a 25-11 rout. Setter Kjersti Jacobson ran the offense with 11 assists in the set, and the Warriors added four service aces. Jessup carried that momentum into the fourth, where
Mia Rivera recorded 5 kills on 10 swings (.400) to help secure a 25-22 win despite a late Vanguard push. In the fifth set, Jessup hit .176 to Vanguard's .062. The Warriors trailed 16-15 after a successful Jessup challenge was reversed into a Vanguard point, then answered with three straight points, including two kills from
Jadyn Hoffman. A Vanguard attack error ended the match.
Hoffman led the Warriors with 15 kills and 16.5 points, added 16 digs, and handled the heaviest receiving load with 45 receptions and just 4 errors. Rivera was Jessup's most efficient hitter, with 13 kills, 3 errors and a .333 attack percentage on 30 swings. She finished with 16.0 points and 4 block assists.
August Stys contributed 12.0 points on 7 kills (.400), 3 solo blocks and 4 block assists. Jacobson finished with 45 assists, 13 digs, 2 aces and 2 block assists. Libero Lillian Smith anchored the back row with a team-high 20 digs.
Jayden Jones added 8.5 points, 11 digs and 2 aces, and
Megan Conway had 5 kills and 3 block assists.
As a team, Jessup out-hit Vanguard .154 to .117. The Warriors committed 26 attack errors to Vanguard's 34 and served 8 aces to Vanguard's 7. They also recorded 74 digs and 11.0 team blocks, and limited Vanguard to a .117 attack percentage for the match.
There is no time to rest. The Warriors stay in Southern California and face Biola on Saturday, Oct. 31, at noon at Chase Gymnasium in La Mirada. Biola swept Jessup 3-0 at Warrior Arena on Sept. 12. Jessup then returns home for a 2:00 PM match against Dominican (CA) on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Warrior Arena. Fans can watch both matches on the PacWest Network and follow along at jessupathletics.com.
***
About Jessup University Athletics Jessup University is a 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).
