ELLISVILLE – No. 22 Jones College flipped the script on No. 25 Pearl River on the court Monday night, earning a 3-1 conference victory inside A.B. Howard Gymnasium.
After falling to the Wildcats in four sets earlier this season in Poplarville, the Bobcats returned the favor at home, winning 25-10, 25-20, 19-25 and 25-17. Jones improved to 21-5 overall and 6-1 in conference play with the victory.
Jones finished with 57 kills while hitting .351 as a team, adding 54 assists, 12 service aces and 51 digs. The Bobcats hit better than .300 in all four sets, including a match-best .417 in the fourth.
"The biggest thing tonight was that we were extremely focused all the way through," head coach John Dussouy said. "This was what we were supposed to do. We were supposed to go out there and play. We didn't let this match get too big. We treated it like we would any other match and remained focused on the goal of playing our game at our tempo. We never let the moment get too big or panicked."
Jones improved to 6-1 all-time against Pearl River.
Jones came out sharp and immediately took control of the rematch, opening with a 25-10 win before following with a 25-20 victory in the second set.
The Bobcats were efficient from the start, hitting .367 in the opening frame and .345 in the second while combining for 29 kills across the first two sets.
Pearl River (22-6 overall, 6-2) responded in the third and extended the match with a 25-19 win. Jones still hit .310 in the frame, but Dussouy said the Bobcats showed some signs of fatigue and an emotional dip before regrouping.
"You could see the adrenaline go out and our emotion have an effect in that third set, even though we did make a run," Dussouy continued. "But to be able to bounce back like that, we definitely fed off of this fan base, and I couldn't be more thankful that our Jones family came together and supported us tonight."
Jones answered with its most efficient set of the night in the fourth, hitting .417 with 14 kills on 24 attacks. The Bobcats closed out the match with a 25-17 win to complete the 3-1 victory.
For the match, Jones finished with 57 kills, 54 assists, 12 service aces and 51 digs while hitting .351 as a team.
LEADING THE WAY
Myah Favre (Pass Christian; OLA) turned in one of the strongest offensive performances of the season, leading Jones with 24 kills while committing just two attack errors on 38 swings for a .579 hitting percentage. She also added 15 digs and a service ace.
Selah Sandridge (Madison; MRA) added 13 kills, three digs and a service ace.
Dussouy said the continued development of the Bobcats' outside hitters has become increasingly noticeable.
"I can't say enough about our outsides," Dussouy said. "At the end of the day, these are freshmen. They are learning, they're growing every game, and they have really started to understand the difference in high school outside and college outside. I think that is a testament to their hard work and what they've done on the court."
Izzi Barnes (Gulfport) remained highly efficient in the middle, finishing with 11 kills without an attack error on 18 attempts for a .611 hitting percentage.
Dussouy also highlighted Amaya Wilson (Olive Branch; Northpoint Christian) and Jailly Vance (New Orleans, La; Isidore Newman) after using the pair in different roles throughout the match.
"It is unorthodox for a coach to make a change like that this late in the season, but there was something that I saw out of Amaya on the right side, and to her credit, she has been so consistent there," Dussouy said. "With Jailly being in the natural position in the middle, her athleticism alone was a huge boost for us. I think it really helped us tonight."
Wilson finished with three kills and a service ace, while Vance added three kills, a solo block, a block assist and an ace.
Claire Wicker (Oxford) directed the offense with 40 assists while adding three digs, two service aces and a block assist.
Olivia Guth (Poplarville; Lakeshore) led the back row with 20 digs and added three service aces.
The Bobcats return to action Tuesday evening against Wallace State-Selma. First serve is set for 5 p.m. Tickets are available at jcbobcats.com/tickets. Due to scheduling conflicts with home conference soccer, there will be no live stream of the match.
