Austin, Texas- The Jets went 0-2 on day two of the Hilltopper Classic against Illinois Springfield and Arkansas Monticello.

Game One vs. Illinois Springfield : How It Happened

• Set one was a back-and-forth battle. The Jets offense tallied 12 kills with 41 attacking attempts, beating UIS in that category. The Jets also won in the Aces category, serving three. However, the Jets couldn't quite get it done, dropping a close first set,  25-21.
• The Jets bounced back in the second set, keeping the match within one point until the 15-14 mar. After UIS scored their 16th point, they went on a 6-1 run taking the lead 20-15 making it hard for the Jets to make up the deficit. Set two went to the Prairie Stars, 25-18.
•  The third set was a game of runs. The Prairie Stars kept their momentum going into the third set, taking the early lead 6-2, but the Jets battled back and went on a run of their own to close the gap making it a 9-8 game. UIS was able to strike back with another run, taking the score to 24-14. The Jets didn't give in, at match point they scored 6 points to make one final push, but ended up just short with a final score of 25-18.

Player Notes:

• Ozioma Ajekwu led the way with 10 kills on 17 total attacks.
• Avery Dempsey led the Jets in assists tallying 22. 
• Natalie Trigo held down the defense with 9 digs. 

Game Two vs. Arkansas Monticello: How It Happened

• Monticello started the first set strong, scoring six points to get an early lead. Newman fought back, attempting thirty-one attacks and collecting eleven kills, but it wasn't enough to stop UAM from winning the set 17-25.
• The second set started just like the first one, with UAM taking a 0-6 lead. This time, the Jets didn't give up and fought back to regain that lead. A powerful NU offense led by McKenna Rhodes and Ozioma Ajekwu scored seventeen kills to claim set number two 27-25.
• Newman maintained their momentum going into the third set. Rhodes and Ajekwu added nine combined kills of the team's seventeen to help the Jets win the third set 25-12.
• UAM wasn't done just yet. Eight kills and multiple Newman attacking errors aided Monticello to winning the fourth set to tie the match. 
• The fifth set was a recap of the previous four sets, with both teams leading at some point and the opposing team coming back. Monticello scored five of the last six points to claim the set and the match.       

Player Notes:

• McKenna Rhodes had an outstanding performance leading the offense with nineteen kills, the highest she's ever recorded as a Jet. 
• Natalie Meyer had six blocks, almost equaling her Newman career high of seven. 
• Madalyn Hoot had her best college game so far. Hoot recorded forty-seven assists. The last time a Jet had over forty-five assists was in the 2022 season. 
• Natalie Trigo played one of her best matches as a Jet. The senior tallied twenty-one digs, setting a season high and only two away from a career high.
   

The Jets will travel to Springfield, Missouri for the Drury Invitational Tournament. On September 13th they will face Roosevelt at 9 AM and Rockhurst at 3 PM. On September 14th they will face Southwest Minnesota State at 11 AM and Dury at 3 PM.