Photo - Austin Lindell
JAMESTOWN - It was a historic night Tuesday evening at the Physical Education Complex as Jamestown Community College volleyball head coach Ashley Lund earned career win number 300 as the Jayhawks defeated visiting Erie Community College in a five-set thriller.
The Jayhawks (5-5, 2-0 WNYAC) were in a back-and-forth battle with the Kats, and it started early in the first set. JCC came out of the gates with a gameplan to get a sizable lead over ECC. ECC would battle back to tighten the set up before the Jayhawks came away with a 25-23 set win.
Moving to the second set, ECC rattled off seven straight points before the Jayhawks found their offense, coming back to tie the set at 9-9. The Kats would regain the lead but the teams battled to a 21-21 tie late in the set. ECC closed out the set with four unanswered to win 25-21.
Looking to regain the momentum, JCC found themselves in a 6-1 hole early in the set. The Jayhawks battled back to take a 14-9 lead. JCC continued to apply the pressure in the set to take the 25-16 win and 2-1 set lead.
The Kats did not go away quietly in the fourth set. JCC jumped out to a good lead before ECC came back to make it a 15-14 game in favor of the Jayhawks. The teams continued to battle but ECC would take a 25-20 set win to make it a 2-2 game.
In the fifth and final set of the evening, both teams went tic-for-tac with one another yet again but the Jayhawks came out on top, winning 15-13.
The Jayhawks had a number of contributors during the game leading off with freshman outside hitter Megan Cotter (Jamestown, NY/Southwestern High) who had a team-high 15 kills on the night. Freshman middle hitter Claire Pumford (Jamestown, NY/Jamestown HS) added 11 kills with freshman outside hitter Emma McCarthy (Olean, NY/Allegany-Limestone Central) chipping in with 10 kills.
Freshman setter Madison Johnson (Panama, NY/Panama Central) had another fantastic night facilitating the offense, coming away with 42 assists.
The Jayhawks also took advantage of the Kats' errors as freshman outside hitter Maggie McClellan (Olean, NY/Olean HS) finished with seven service aces while freshman outside hitter Breanna Gilbert-Hopkins (Falconer, NY/Chautauqua Lake Central) adding five service aces.
On the defensive side of the ball, McCarthy had a team-high 24 digs with McClellan adding 20 digs. Claire Pumford was a wall at the net, coming away with four blocks.
The Jayhawks will have a quick turnaround as they travel to Lakeland Community College tomorrow afternoon for a 6 p.m. match.
