ABILENE - Brenda Jackson posted 14 kills and Danielle Kelton finished with a double-double of 13 kills and a match-high 15 digs en route to helping lead McMurry to a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Mississippi College Saturday morning at Kimbrell Arena.
Kelton's 13 kills also helped her pass the 1,000-kills milestone as she is now fourth on the McMurry all-time list with 1,005. It was the second-straight win for McMurry and the team has won both matches thus far at the American Southwest Conference Crossover Tournament.
The five-set victory for McMurry - their second consecutive win that went the distance as they also knocked off East Texas Baptist by the same margin on Friday - improves McMurry to 13-9 overall and 10-5 in ASC play. Meanwhile, the loss drops the Choctaws to 10-9 and 4-8. McMurry will finish its play in the ASC Crossover Tournament with a 5 p.m. match against Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Mississippi College came out of the gates quick as the Choctaws grabbed the first set, 25-20, before also taking the second set, 25-22, to hold a commanding two sets to zero lead in the match. But McMurry showed great resilience as they bounced back to take the third and fourth sets in commanding fashion - 25-14, 25-15, respectively.
The decisive fifth set was a back-and-forth struggle midway through with McMurry holding a slight 8-7 lead when the teams switched sides. But McMurry quickly went on a 6-2 run after the switch to take a 14-9 lead. The Choctaws fought off three match points to bring the score to 14-12, but an unforced error by Mississippi College ended the match and subsequently sealed the victory for McMurry.
Jackson joined Kelton with a double-double as Jackson finished tied with 11 digs to accompany her 14 kills. McMurry freshman middle blocker M.J. Vickers finished tied with a team-high 14 kills and also a team-high two blocks. The Choctaws' Jessica Torick finished with a match-high 17 kills.