FRESNO, Calif.--- Stan State rallied from a 2-0 deficit this afternoon to defeat the Jessup University Warriors in five sets (24-26, 23-25, 25-13, 25-11, 15-1) in its second match of the Sunbird Classic at the Special Events Center in Fresno, Calif. Mariah Iosua and Autumn Kirby each recorded eleven kills to lead the way for the victors.
FIRST SET: Shaelyn Pruiett's kill gave the Warriors a 7-3 early in the first set. Jessup (0-1) came right back and took an 8-7 lead on an ace by Madalyn Miller. Stan State recorded five of the six points including the final one on a service ace by Autumn Kirby. The match went back until Stan State took a 23-21 lead on another kill by Kirby. Jessup took the set, 26-24, as the Warriors scored five of the set's final six points.
SECOND SET: Jessup took an 8-2 lead in set two capped by a Julia Olson kill. The Warriors tied the set at 10-10 on an Isabella Saucedo kill. They took a 14-12 lead mid-way through the set. Stan State (2-0) increased its lead on three consecutive kills by Saucedo (2) and Mariah Iosua, 18-14. Jessup came right back and scored nine of the next twelve points to take a 23-21 lead. The Jessup Warriors took the set, 25-23, to take a 2-0 advantage in the match on a kill by Kailia Phillips.
THIRD SET: In thanks to two kills by Kirby and one by Saucedo and an ace by Gabby Rawson, Stan State took a 6-2 lead in the third set. The Warriors increased their lead to 18-10 keyed by an Iosua kill off a pass from Haley Burdo. They increased their lead to 22-12, on two service aces by Shaelyn Pruiett. Stan State scored three of the final four points to take the set, 25-12 and cut Jessup's lead to 2-1 in the match.
FOURTH SET: Kirby's kill off a pass from Saucedo gave Stan State a 14-6 lead to begin the fourth set. The Warriors increased their lead to 23-9. Kills by Makenna Carrillo and Iosua off passes from Burdo gave the Warriors the set, 25-11 and evened the match at 2-2.
FIFTH SET: The fifth and final set was back and forth until Jessup took a 7-6 lead. Stan State recorded six of the next eight points keyed by an Ellison Weaver kill and a Burdo ace to take a 12-9 lead. A kill by Taylor MacCuish cut the Warriors' lead to 12-10. Stan State finished the match off on three consecutive kills by Iosua, Alex Byrd, and Weaver, 15-12, and to take the match 3-2.
32/40: Stan State had 32 assists in the five-set victory keyed by Haley Burdo's 19. Shaelyn Pruiett added 13 for the victors.
.265: The Warriors had a .265 hitting percentage led by the duo of Autumn Kirby and Mariah Iosua each with eleven kills. Isabella Saucedo added nine and Malia Tanksley recorded eight.
ACES: Stan State had twelve service aces with Devyn Nifo and Shaelyn Pruiett each with three. Gabby Rawson recorded two service aces to go with her 19 digs.
FINISH OFF THE SUNBIRD CLASSIC: The Warriors will wrap up play in the Classic tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. versus Academy of Art and at 4:30 p.m. versus Dominican. Academy of Art lost in three sets to Chico State earlier today. The Urban Knights will face Fresno Pacific this evening at 7:00 p.m. Dominican will face Jessup this afternoon at 4:30pm before taking on Chico State tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. prior to its match with the Warriors. They will have its home opener on Student Affairs Night, Thursday, Sept. 12 at 5:30pm versus UC Merced.
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