SENATOBIA – No. 23 Jones College ran into an unbeaten Northwest squad Sunday evening, falling 3-0 inside Howard Coliseum.
Northwest (19-0, 2-0 MACCC) remained perfect on the season with a 25-15, 25-22, 25-15 victory over the Bobcats. Jones dropped to 11-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
The Rangers held a relatively narrow 35-29 advantage in kills, but their work from the service line helped separate the two teams. Northwest finished with 10 aces compared to two for Jones and also held a 5-3 edge in blocks.
Jones hit .154 for the match while Northwest finished at .205.
Myah Favre provided the Bobcats' most efficient offensive performance, finishing with a team-high nine kills on 19 attacks without an error for a .474 hitting percentage. Izzi Barnes added six kills and Amaya Wilson recorded five while hitting .333.
Northwest established control early in the opening set. The Rangers produced 11 kills and hit .182 while limiting Jones to seven kills in a 25-15 victory.
The Bobcats responded with their best offensive set of the match in the second and led 22-14 to force a Northwest timeout. But seven attack errors prevented the Bobcats from capitalizing as Northwest escaped with a 25-22 win to take a two-set advantage.
Northwest closed out the match in the third, hitting a match-best .225 with 12 kills against just three errors. Jones also put down 11 kills in the set and hit .182, its best percentage of the match, but the Rangers pulled away for another 25-15 victory.
Claire Wicker directed the Jones offense with 22 of the Bobcats' 27 assists while adding 10 digs. Olivia Guth led the defense with 11 digs, with Selah Sandridge and Wicker adding 10 apiece. Guth and Wicker accounted for Jones' two service aces.
Barnes led Jones at the net with two blocks. Wilson and Jailly Vance each contributed a block.
Sofia Gonzalez paced Northwest with a match-high 14 kills, while Valerie Hurdle added nine and Ariana Woods finished with seven. Woods and Adalyn Callahan each served four aces as Northwest recorded 10 as a team.
Chloe Rodriguez handed out 21 assists for the Rangers, and Jania Rose led all players with 16 digs. Callahan added 14 digs.
Jones returns home Wednesday at 6 p.m. to host Southwest (7-7, 1-1 MACCC).
Tickets are $8 at jcbobcats.com/tickets or $10/$11 cash/card at the entrance. The match will be streamed at jcbobcats.com/watch.
