HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Jackson State University volleyball finished their season with a heartbreaking five-setter against the Rattlers of Florida A&M University that ended in a score of 3-2.
Florida A&M began the match by taking the opening set, but the Tigers took the momentum back. The squad recovered a five-point Rattler lead in the second set which featured eight tie scores and three lead changes. Alexis Williams landed a kill to force the set into extras with a tie at 25-all. Florida A&M's Jasmine Robinson earned a kill to go up by one, but a FAMU ball handling error tied the set back up at 26 points. Jackson State earned the second set with a final score of 28-26 on a pair of kills by Olivia Flanagan and Jylen Whitten, respectively.
The Tigers carried the momentum into the third set to take the lead with a score of 25-23. Alexis Williams and Jylen Whitten both had four kills in the third set, but the defensive effort up front was what really made the difference. The team finished with seven blocks, three of which (two solo) were made by All-SWAC Second Team honoree, Taila Gaines.
Florida A&M took the remaining sets with scores of 25-23 and 15-13.
The match was an all-around team effort, with seven Jackson State student-athletes finishing the match in double figures. Damassy Thompson finished with a total of 52 assists, helping her hitters earn 52 kills total, and added 16 digs defensively for a double-double.
Offensively, three Tigers finished with 16.5 points scored. Olivia Flanagan led the team in kills with 15, and also added seven digs and three block assists. Jylen Whitten recorded a double-double, earning 14 kills and 15 digs, and three block assists. Marina Brito added 11 kills and 10 digs, with three solo blocks and five block assists. Alexis Williams also recorded a double-double, earning 12 kills and 10 digs.
The defensive specialists Trinity Bryant and Alana Washington recorded 14 and 11 digs respectively, rounding out the team total of 73 digs total throughout the match.
Three Tigers were recognized for their performance in the SWAC Tournament. Marina Brito Bianchi, Damassy Thompson, and Alexis Williams were named to the SWAC Conference Tournament team.
Jackson State volleyball finished the 2021 fall season with a record of 17-13 with a SWAC record of 15-1, and earned the second-straight regular season SWAC championship for the program.
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