WESSON – The No, 22 Jones College volleyball team went the distance Wednesday night but came up just short in a five-set battle at Copiah-Lincoln.
Jones twice responded from a set down before Co-Lin escaped with a 25-22, 20-25, 25-16, 20-25, 18-16 victory. The loss moved the Bobcats to 22-6 overall and 6-2 in conference play.
SET ONE
The opening set remained tight for much of the way.
Jones trailed 15-12 before Co-Lin (9-14, 4-4) created some separation, but the Bobcats fought their way back. A Claire Wicker (Oxford)-Jailly Vance (New Orleans, La.; Isidore Newman) block helped start the response before a Myah Favre (Pass Christian; OLA) ace pulled Jones within 19-17.
The Bobcats eventually erased the deficit completely, with an Izzi Barnes (Gulfport) block tying the set at 22. Co-Lin, however, scored the final three points to take the opener 25-22.
SET TWO
Jones answered with a strong finish in the second.
After trailing 12-9, the Bobcats worked their way back and eventually pulled even at 16-16. The set remained tied at 19 before Jones seized control.
Wicker delivered two aces during the closing run, while Barnes and Amaya Wilson (Olive Branch; Northpoint Christian) combined at the net as Jones scored six of the final seven points to take the set 25-20 and even the match 1-1.
SET THREE
Co-Lin immediately regained the momentum in the third.
The Wolves built a 15-9 advantage before extending the margin to double digits. The Bobcats were unable to generate the same offensive rhythm they found in the first two sets and fell 25-16.
SET FOUR
Facing elimination, Jones responded again.
The Bobcats built an 8-5 advantage behind contributions from Selah Sandridge (Madison; MRA), Favre and Barnes before an Olivia Guth (Poplarville; Lakeshore) kill and ace helped extend the lead to 10-7.
The Wolves later battled back to tie the set at 16, but Jones regained control. Favre produced several important points down the stretch, and a Wilson ace finished off a 25-20 victory to force the deciding fifth set.
SET FIVE
The fifth set turned into a marathon.
Co-Lin built an 8-4 advantage before the Bobcats began chipping away. Favre and Sandridge helped pull the Bobcats within one, and Barnes tied the set at 10-10.
From there, neither side could create separation as the match remain deadlocked.
Jones battled back to 13-13 and then moved in front 14-13, putting the Bobcats one point away from completing the comeback. Co-Lin answered, and the teams continued trading points through 16-16.
The Wolves finally scored the final two points to take the set 18-16 and the match 3-2.
LEADING THE WAY
Sandridge led the Jones offense with 18 kills and added a service ace and block assist.
Favre recorded 13 kills, 14 digs and two service aces while also contributing a solo block and two block assists.
Barnes added nine kills while hitting .318 and finished with a solo block and two block assists.
Wilson provided an solid stat line at the net, finishing with four kills on five swings without an error while recording four solo blocks and a block assist.
Wicker handed out 40 assists, collected 14 digs and added three aces.
Guth anchored the back row with a match-high 25 digs and added four assists.
UP NEXT
The Bobcats return to action Monday, Oct. 19 for the final home match of the regular season against East Central. First serve is set for 6 p.m. Tickets are available online at
jcbobcats.com/tickets. The match will be livestreamed at
jcbobcats.com/watch.
