ENTERPRISE, Ala. – The Jones College volleyball team turned in a 3-1 showing during a four-match tournament, picking up wins over Coastal Alabama-South, Snead State and Central Alabama while dropping a five-set thriller to Lurleen B. Wallace.
Jones finished the weekend with 186 kills, 177 assists, 39 service aces and 169 digs across the four matches.
Head coach John Dussouy came away encouraged by the depth the Bobcats were able to develop throughout the weekend.
"When you're able to play your entire roster and still be competitive that's a great sign that things are starting to come together," Dussouy said. "It provides a coach more options when it comes to setting lineups or putting players in at some of the most crucial moments of a conference match because you know that they can get the job done."
COASTAL ALABAMA SOUTH
Jones (10-3 overall) opened the tournament Friday with a straight-set victory over Coastal Alabama-South (3-7) in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The matchup carried some added significance for Dussouy, with Coastal being his former school.
The Bobcats hit .315 as a team, finishing with 46 kills on 89 attacks while adding 10 service aces and 40 digs.
Izzi Barnes (Gulfport) led an efficient Jones attack with 10 kills on just 11 swings, committing one error to hit .818. Myah Favre (Pass Christian; OLA) added nine kills while hitting .353, and Amaya Wilson (Olive Branch; Northpoint Christian) finished with eight kills on 11 attacks for a .636 hitting percentage.
Jailly Vance (New Orleans, La.; Isidore Newman) added seven kills, while Claire Wicker (Oxford) recorded 27 assists and Keira Hariel (Madison; MRA) added 14.
SNEAD STATE
The Bobcats were forced to respond after a difficult opening set against Snead State (6-9).
Jones dropped the first 25-15 and hit -.240 in the frame, but turned the match around in the second. After surviving a tight 28-26 set to even the match, they were able to take control with 25-21 and 25-17 victories in the third and fourth sets.
Jones hit .367 in the third set, its best offensive frame of the match, while recording 18 kills.
Favre paced the Bobcats with 15 kills, while Barnes finished with 10 kills without an attack error on 13 swings for a .769 hitting percentage.
Wicker handed out 25 assists and added 11 digs, while Olivia Guth (Poplarville; Lakeshore) led Jones with 16 digs. Hariel added 18 assists and seven digs as Jones completed the 3-1 comeback victory.
LURLEEN B. WALLACE
Jones' lone setback of the weekend came Saturday against Lurleen B. Wallace (12-1) in a five-set battle.
After dropping the opening set 25-16, the Bobcats answered with consecutive 25-19 and 25-22 victories to take a 2-1 lead.
LBW forced a deciding fifth set with a 25-15 win in the fourth before closing out the match 15-9.
Barnes again led Jones offensively, finishing with 14 kills without an attack error on 23 attempts for a .609 hitting percentage.
Selah Sandridge (Madison; MRA) added 13 kills, while Favre recorded 11 kills and 10 digs. Wicker finished with 24 assists and 13 digs, while Hariel distributed 30 assists. Guth added 14 digs defensively.
CENTRAL ALABAMA
The Bobcats responded to the loss by closing the weekend with a straight-set victory over Central Alabama (0-13).
Jones turned in its most efficient offensive performance of the tournament, hitting .455 with 32 kills against just seven attack errors on 55 swings. The Bobcats also recorded a tournament-high 16 service aces.
Sandridge led the attack with 10 kills while hitting .562. Barnes added seven kills and hit .500, while Jensi Doise (Baton Rogue, La.; Parkview Baptist) finished with five kills on nine attacks for a .556 hitting percentage.
Addyson Sides (Central, La.; Central Private) provided a major boost from the service line with five aces. Wicker added 13 assists and three aces, while Hariel finished with 12 assists and three aces.
LEADING THE WAY
Barnes put together an outstanding weekend at the net, totaling 41 kills with only three attack errors on 57 attempts. She hit .667 across the four matches, including performances of .818 against Coastal Alabama-South, .769 against Snead State and .609 against Lurleen B. Wallace.
Dussouy was especially impressed with the sophomore middle's impact against opposing defenses.
"She is by far, in my opinion, one of the strongest middles in this conference," Dussouy said. "Coastal Alabama, Snead and Central Alabama all tried to triple block her, and she was still that successful with those stats."
"She was one of those players this weekend that was unstoppable," Dussouy added. "I'm thankful that she decided to come to Jones, and to come back for a second season. It makes it a lot easier to fill out a lineup card when you have someone like that on your roster."
Favre totaled 35 kills over the weekend, highlighted by her 15-kill performance against Snead State.
Sandridge added 34 kills, including 10 kills while hitting .562 in the finale against Central Alabama.
Wilson totaled 23 kills while hitting .425 across the four matches.
Wicker directed the offense with 89 assists while adding 30 digs and eight service aces.
Hariel added 74 assists and nine service aces.
Guth anchored the back row with 50 digs.
UP NEXT
The Bobcats return home Monday, Sept. 14 for a rivalry matchup against Gulf Coast. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
Tickets are available for $8 online at
jcbobcats.com/tickets. Price increases to $10 cash/$11 card at the door. All home matches are streamed online at
jcbobcats.com/watch.
