PERKINSTON – No. 22 Jones College found another way to win Monday night.
After dropping consecutive sets and falling behind 2-1, the Bobcats responded by taking the final two frames to rally past Mississippi Gulf Coast 3-2 at Dantzler Arena.
"It was a great win last night," third-year head coach John Dussouy said. "The ability to battle back after being down showed a lot of fight. It's good to have this type of match going down the stretch and getting ready for the region tournament."
Jones won 25-13, 23-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-11 to improve to 19-5 overall and 4-1 in MACCC play. Gulf Coast fell to 14-6 and 3-2.
MGCCC defeated Jones in a non-conference match on Sept. 14 in Ellisville, but Jones improved to 3-0 all-time against the Bulldogs in conference play.
Izzi Barnes led the Bobcats with 16 kills on a .481 hitting percentage and added three block assists. Selah Sandridge finished with 15 kills and three service aces, while Myah Favre added 14 kills and 10 digs.
Jones dominated the opening set, hitting .290 with 14 kills in a 25-13 victory.
Gulf Coast answered in the second. The Bulldogs edged Jones 25-23 and carried the momentum into the third, winning 25-19 to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Facing its first deficit of the night, Jones responded in the fourth.
The Bobcats forced a decisive fifth set with a 25-19 victory despite committing 10 attack errors in the frame. Jones put down 13 kills in the set to extend the match.
The Bobcats saved their best offensive performance for the fifth.
Jones committed just two attack errors and hit .474 in the deciding set, finishing with 11 kills on 19 swings. The Bobcats pulled away for a 15-11 victory to complete the comeback.
Barnes was especially efficient throughout the night, committing only three errors on 27 attacks. Jailly Vance added eight kills on 18 swings with just one error for a .389 hitting percentage.
Claire Wicker directed the Jones offense with 41 assists and added 12 digs, four service aces and a kill. Keira Hariel contributed 10 assists.
Olivia Guth led the Bobcats defensively with 19 digs and added seven assists. Favre and Allynah Lazard each finished with 10 digs as Jones totaled 68 for the match.
The Bobcats also produced 13 service aces. Wicker led the way with four, Sandridge had three and Lucy McHugh added two.
Jones finished with 59 kills, 59 assists and six total blocks while hitting .168 for the match.
Gulf Coast was led offensively by Lilly Rutland, Liv Todd and Colbie Acosta with nine kills apiece. Reese Sorrells added eight kills, while Lila Turner had 16 assists and Maddie Soucie finished with 12.
Cambell Herrington paced the Bulldogs with 19 digs, while Acosta and Kinsey Allen each had three blocks.
Jones travels to Northeast on Wednesday, Oct. 7 for a 5 p.m. first serve. The match will be streamed at nemcctv.com/blackchannel.
