JACKSON, Miss.| The Jackson State volleyball team fell in five sets (20-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 9-15) in a back-and-forth match with Florida A&M Friday at home to open SWAC play. The Tigers gained momentum in the fourth set but couldn't keep it pushing falling in the fifth. 4-8 overall and 0-1

The Lady Tigers offense was paced by Jayden James, who finished with 19 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .282. Jones added 13 and Alexis Williams chipped in with 10 as part of balanced Jackson State attack. Defensively, had three players reach double figures in digs, including Trinity Bryant's 21, 12 from Naija Gadis, and 10 more from Karys Dove. From the front row, Kyra Dove contributed seven blocks and Jones added five rejections.

How It Happened

• Jackson State (4-8, 0-1 SWAC) found itself in an early deficit, dropping the first set 25-20.
• Florida A&M (9-5, 1-0 SWAC) grabbed the advantage for good at 18-17 in a set that was tied up eight times before the Rattlers took over in the second half of the stanza.
• JSU responded to pick up a 25-21 victory in set two, evening the match at one set apiece.
• The Tigers took control of the set lead early on at 5-4 and never looked back.
• Jackson State led by as many as seven points at 24-17 before finishing off the set, collecting 15 kills while only notching two attack errors. 
• JSU's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking five Florida A&M attacks in the stanza.
• FAMU responded to win set number three, putting Jackson State in a two sets to one hole.
• The Tigers rallied from a seven-point deficit at 18-11, but Florida A&M hung on to win the set 25-23.
• Jackson State answered by securing the fourth set 25-18 to force a fifth set.
• A strong showing on the attacking end led the Tigers to victory in the set.
• JSU put together a .375 attack percentage with 12 kills in the set win.
• The Tigers ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the stanza.
• Jackson State also supplemented their offense with four aces in the set.
• JSU got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked four Florida A&M attacks in the stanza.
• The Tigers ended up on the wrong side of a back-and-forth match, winning the second and fourth sets, but losing the first, third and fifth, which they dropped by the score of 15-9, to fall in the match.
• The Tigers fell behind by as many as six points before losing the fifth set.

Inside the Numbers

• Jackson State had three players in double figures in kills and digs.
• Jadyn James led the Tigers' offense with 19 kills.
• Jordan Jones was efficient in attacking situations in the match, accumulating 13 kills and five blocks.
• Naija Gadis finished with a double-double, 28 assists and 12 digs.
• Karys Dove also registered a double-double finishing with 26 assists, 10 digs and two aces in the match.
• JSU got a match-high 21 digs from Trinity Bryant.
• Kyra Dove recorded seven blocks in the match for Jackson State.

Up Next
The Tigers will return to the Lee E. Williams AAC to host Bethune-Cookman on Sunday. First serve is set for 12 p.m.

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