Eagles Rally in Five Sets Against Gamecocks

PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Boston College volleyball team opened the Grand Canyon University Invitational with a 3-2 win over Jacksonville State on Friday evening, besting the Gamecocks 19-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-25, 16-14 in GCU Arena.

The Eagles (4-0) responded well after Jacksonville State (3-2) took the first frame, battling to the very end and winning the final set in extra points. BC hit .172 percent (59 kills – 28 errors – 180 total attacks) and out blocked the Gamecocks 13-10. JSU edged the Eagles in assists, 62-57, and digs, 81-76, but 33 errors hurt the Gamecocks in the end, hitting .168 percent (66 – 33 – 197).

Junior Cat Balido led the Eagles in kills with 14, narrowly missing a double-double with nine digs. Junior Makenzie Morrison led with 31 digs while junior Jill Strockis recorded 10 kills and 11 digs.

Junior Jane DeJarld led all Eagles with 30 assists, followed by Madison McKnight with 20. Sophomore Amaka Chukwujekwu tallied one solo block and five block assists.

GCU INVITATIONAL
Boston College 3, Jacksonville State 2
August 31, 2018
Phoenix, Ariz. | GCU Arena

BC HIGHLIGHTS

The Eagles hit 59 kills against Jacksonville State, the most in a match this season.
Jill Strockis recorded her first double-double of the season with 10 kills and 11 digs.
Madison McKnight tallied her fifth ace of the season. Prior to 2018, McKnight had two aces in her career at BC.
Two Eagles, Cat Balido and Strockis, hit double-digit kills for BC, while two more, Amaka Chukwujekwu and sophomore Clare Naughton, narrowly missed the milestone with nine kills each.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 – Jacksonville State led the set early but the Eagles stayed close behind, trailing just 10-9. The Gamecocks then went on a 9-3 run to lead 19-12, and even though the Eagles fought late to close the gap, the deficit was too much and the Gamecocks held on for a 25-19 win.

Set 2 – BC tied up the match in the second set, rebounding from a rocky start to win 25-20. The Eagles narrowly trailed to start the set but came back to lead for the first time, 10-9, on a kill from Amaka Chukwujekwu. After JSU tied it at 10 all, the teams traded points to force nine ties until a pair of JSU errors gave BC a 20-18 advantage. The Eagles took the momentum into a final 5-2 run to win the set and tie the match 1-1.

Set 3 – The Eagles sprung to an 8-5 lead in set three, but Jacksonville State quickly tied it up at eight all. The teams alternated short runs, but the Eagles pulled ahead 14-10 to force JSU timeout. The Gamecocks and Eagles traded jabs until JSU went on a tear late in the set to force a BC timeout at 23-19. Boston College held off the charge and won the set, 25-20.

Set 4 – Jacksonville State took the fourth frame, 25-15, after finishing out the set on a 10-2 surge. The set started locked in ties until BC went on a 4-0 run to lead 8-5 and force a Gamecocks' timeout. The break paid off for JSU, who went 12-5 out of the timeout to lead 17-13 by the BC timeout before closing out the match, 25-15.

Set 5 – The Eagles and Gamecocks went point-for-point in the final set with BC leading 8-7 at the switch. JSU held a 9-8 advantage when Boston College took a timeout, but the Eagles came out of the break hot and scored three straight points to lead 11-9. The game came down to the wire, knotted up at 13-13 and 14-14, but a block and a kill from junior Cat Balido put BC up 16-14 to take the set and match.

UP NEXT
The Eagles continue play at the GCU Invitational on Saturday, facing Southern Utah at 2:30 p.m. ET before matching up with host Grand Canyon at 9 p.m. ET.

Eagles Rally in Five Sets Against Gamecocks

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Team Stats

Cat Balido

Jill Strockis

Amaka Chukwujekwu

Clare Naughton

Players Mentioned

Cat Balido

Amaka Chukwujekwu

Jane DeJarld

Madison McKnight

Makenzie Morrison

Clare Naughton

Jill Strockis

Players Mentioned

Cat Balido

Amaka Chukwujekwu

Jane DeJarld

Madison McKnight

Makenzie Morrison

Clare Naughton

Jill Strockis