With a six-game winning streak, the Jackets traveled down south to face the Miami Hurricanes at the Knight Sports Complex on Nov. 4.
As the first set started, the Jackets were the first to gain the lead after a four-point run to make the score 8-5. Miami was quick to follow and took back the lead, 11-10. As Miami took the lead, they continued the momentum and carried the lead until the Jackets fired back. The Jackets scored eight straight points to gain the lead back, 21-16. The Jackets held onto the lead to win the set 25-18 and take the first set.
However, Miami did not back down and entered the second set fiercer than ever. The two teams rallied and continued to keep the lead under two points. Miami was the first to take a wide lead by scoring four straight points to make the score 18-14. The Jackets fired back to shorten the gap to 23-22; however, the Hurricanes took the next two points to win the second set and tie the match score at 1-1.
Entering the third set, the Jackets struggled to take the lead as Miami showed no signs of backing down. With Miami taking the first wide lead, the Jackets followed quickly, catching up and taking the lead 16-15. Once again, the Hurricanes took the lead and widened the gap further to 22-19 after gaining five out of the last six points. Although the Jackets tied the game back up at 22-22, the Hurricanes took the final three points to win the third frame and be one set away from beating the Jackets.
With Miami just one set away from winning, the Jackets fought to keep the game alive by taking a 12-10 lead. However, Miami fired back with four straight points to gain the lead back, 19-15. Although the Jackets were able to tie the game back up at 21, the Hurricanes took the final three points that they needed to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.
Although the six-game winning streak was snapped, the Jackets played a hard-fought game. Senior Julia Bergmann finished the night with 16 kills, which moved her to eighth in program history for career kills. Junior Tamara Otene joined Bergmann with 10 kills, while junior Isabella D’Amico ended the night with 40 assists. Senior Erin Moss also helped the team with six blocks for the night.
The Jackets stayed south and faced the Florida State Seminoles on Nov. 6 at Tully Gym, hoping to bounce back after a tough loss against the Miami Hurricanes.
The first set started with the Seminoles taking off quickly with the first four points. Florida State continued to widen the gap with a 7-1 lead. Although the Jackets fired back with a four-point streak, the Seminoles answered back in return with a six-point streak to widen the gap to 13-5. Again, the Jackets gained six out of the next seven points to close the gap to 15-12. However, the Seminoles went on an eight-point streak to reach set point and took one final point to win the first set 25-14.
After a tough first set, the Jackets entered the second set trying to find their rhythm. The two teams rallied, with the biggest gap being just two points. However, the Seminoles were the first to take off with a five-point streak to take the lead, 13-10. The Jackets did not back down and came back with five straight points to overturn the lead, 15-13. After rallying again, the Seminoles took back the lead and won the set 25-21.
With the Seminoles being one set away from winning the game, the Jackets were quick to take the lead in the third set. With a 6-3 lead, the Jackets were able to find their rhythm. The Jackets were then able to widen the gap to 15-8 and later to 21-12. However, the Seminoles went on a four-point streak to shorten the gap to 21-16, but the streak was not enough to overturn the lead. After keeping the lead throughout the set, the Jackets were able to keep the game going by winning the set 25-19.
Keeping the rhythm from the third set, the Jackets took the lead by gaining the first three points of the set. With an 8-3 lead, the Jackets made sure to keep the lead and later extended the lead to 18-7. However, Florida State did not back down and fired back with a massive 10-point streak to cut the 11-point lead to a one -point lead. Although the Seminoles were quick to follow, the Jackets were able to find their rhythm once again, win the set 25-20 and tie the set score at 2-2, setting up a reverse sweep opportunity for the Jackets.
Coming back from a 2-0 set score, the Jackets entered the fifth and final set with the goal of completing the reverse sweep. The fifth set started with the Jackets taking the first lead with a 3-1 start. The Jackets widened the gap even more to 7-3, but the Seminoles continued to follow closely. Although Florida State kept it close, the Jackets gained the last two points of the set to win 15-10 and take home the win.
Bergmann ended the afternoon once again with a career high of 38 kills and 77 attacks, followed by sophomore Bianca Bertolino with 14 kills, 33 attacks and 20 digs. D’Amico also led the team with 43 assists, while graduate Breland Morrissette led the team with five blocks.
The Jackets come back home to play against the Louisville Cardinals on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.