JACKSON, Miss. - The Jackson State Tigers rallied after losing the first set to beat Bethune-Cookman 3-1 on Friday night. The loss drops the Wildcats to 10-5 in conference play with one more game to play until the SWAC tournament.


After some early back and forth during the opening set, Jackson State (13-12, 12-3) was able to build a four-point lead on Bethune-Cookman (13-14, 10-5). The lead did not last long though, as the Cats were able to tie it up at 10 following a service ace by Melissa Gonzalez. 

The set remained tightly contested as neither team could gain much separation. B-CU was able grab a 20-17 lead after a kill by Amya Jennings, but Jackson State was able to hang around, eventually tying it back up at 23. The teams alternated scoring until a service ace by Morgan Wingo finally gave the Wildcats the set victory 28-26.

Jackson State took an early 4-0 lead during the second set, but the Wildcats clawed their way back to take the lead 10-8. B-CU was able to widen the gap to as large as four, but a 7-1 JSU scoring run gave the Tigers the lead back.

The end of the set was very similar to the first, with each team trying to gain the two-point advantage necessary to win the set. This time though, it was the Tigers who came out on top, with Hope Briggs coming up with two straight kills to clinch the set 27-25.

During the third set, the Tigers were able to gain a big advantage early and would never look back. After JSU took a 10-2 lead, the Wildcats fought to get back in it. Following a Tigers' attack error, B-CU was able to cut the deficit to four, but JSU used three consecutive kills to close it out, winning the set 25-18.

The fourth set was competitive to start, as the score was tied at five early, but JSU was able to score the next six-points to build a big lead. It was smooth sailing for the Tigers from there as they outscored B-CU 14-5 the rest of the way and were able to pull out the victory.

• Amya Jennings led the Wildcats with 13 kills and six digs
• Morgan Wingo finished with a season-high four block solos.
• Nola Hampill collected 19 assists, while Melissa Gonzalez added 14 of her own
• JSU finished with 20 more kills than the Wildcats.