TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — Freshman Olivia Flanagan led the Tigers of Jackson State University with 15.5 points scored on Monday evening in setback against the Rattlers of Florida A&M University.

FAMU started the set opener with a 10-3 scoring run, forcing Jackson State to battle back. Flanagan earned two kills to start a 9-2 scoring run of the Tigers' own to cut the Rattler lead to three (23-20), but FAMU took the first set with a final score of 25-22.

The Tigers came out of the gate in the second set earning four-straight points and establishing an early lead, but the Rattler hitters were not missing. They became tied at nine points-all, and the two teams went back-and-forth into extras, with FAMU taking the second set with a final score of 26-24.

The Tigers and Rattlers truly matched each other in scoring in the final set of the match, which featured four tie-scores, but the Rattler offense (.339 hitting percentage) took the final point of the match with a kill to win with a final score of 3-0.

Jackson State finished with a hitting percentage of .228, accruing 45 kills on 115 total attempts. True freshman Olivia Flanagan led the offense with 15.5 points scored on 15 kills and one block assist. Alexis Williams added 15 points on 14 kills and six digs. Jylen Whitten held the defense down with 11 digs, while junior setter Damassy Thompson was active on both sides of the ball, motoring the offense with 35 assists and returning seven digs on defense.

With the loss, the Tigers fall to 9-12 overall in the 2021 season, and marks the first loss in conference play. Tiger volleyball heads to Baton Rouge, La. to take on Prairie View A&M, Southern University, and Alcorn State in the SWAC Western Division Cluster Two the weekend of Halloween.