JACKSON, Miss. - The Jackson State volleyball team opened up tonight for the first home game of the season and despite falling to the Northwestern State Lady Demons, the energy and atmosphere at T.B. Ellis did not disappoint.

The Lady Tigers entered the matchup unbeaten at 3-0 overall, after wins over Delaware State, South Carolina State, and Florida A&M over the weekend. The Blue and White took on the Northwestern State Lady Demons tonight in game three of the series, after the Lady Demons defeated JSU back-to-back in 2017 and 2018 by scores of 3-0 each.

The scoreboard tonight mirrored the same score as those previous two meetings, but the overall game itself was no where near how the Tigers competed against the Lady Demons in seasons past.

After falling in set one 25-15, the Tigers closed the gap in set two, yet fell 25-18. Set three truly showed the potential the Lady Tigers have with a squad mixed with youth and experience.

As the match went on, the team continued to gain more confidence in themselves and in one another as the momentum slowly began to swing in the favor of JSU.

The energy was contagious tonight at T.B. Ellis, as the crowd began to overflow onto the floor and wrap it's way around the entire court where the Lady Tigers and Lady Demons fought tooth and nail in the final set of the night. 

The stands rattled, the floors shook, and the crowd was relentless in getting behind the Lady Tigers all night, as they cheered for a hopeful third set victory. Neither team could separate themselves from the other team by more than a point in the final moments of the match.

Tied up at 29-29 in a win by two situation, the Tigers did not have enough to pull off two straight points, as that pendulum swung back into the direction of Northwestern State. 

The Lady Demons rallied off the final two match points to take a 31-29 set victory and the 3-0 overall victory over the Lady Tigers.

Despite what the scoreboard read after the game, the Lady Tigers positioned themselves to compete and even win at moments against a team that has owned the series over the last several seasons.

JSU continues to grow and develop as a program, competing and even defeating teams this season that have defeated JSU in matches in the past. 

The crowd was electric for the first home opener of the season and they'll get a chance at it again next week when the Tigers return home to T.B. Ellis on Tuesday, September 10, versus the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m.

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