OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The No. 8-ranked Johnson County Community College volleyball team battled through an intense four-set match to defend its home court with a 3-1 victory over No.5-ranked Kansas City Kansas Community College Wednesday night.

As expected, the opening set was tightly contested, but the Cavaliers came out on top 25-23. In the second, JCCC took control late to pull away for a 25-17 win and a 2-0 match lead.

Set three was another nail-biter with key rallies and strong defensive play from both side but the Blue Devils managed to pull away late for a 25-21 win to avoid the sweep.

Kansas City Kansas carried that momentum into the fourth set and appeared poised to even the match and force a decisive fifth. The Cavaliers fell behind early, 8-3, and later faced their largest deficit at 13-4. However, JCCC began to chip away, stringing together several crucial points. Trailing 19-13, the Cavaliers closed the set — and the match — on a remarkable 12-2 run to win 25-21.

Freshman outside/right-side hitter Ava Esser led the Cavaliers' attack with 14 kills, followed by sophomore middle/right-side hitter Avery Ringgenberg, freshman middle/right-side hitter Lauren Roediger, and freshman outside/right-side hitter Lily Waters, who each finished with seven kills. Sophomore outside hitter Brooke Boyer also turned in a solid effort with six kills and 12 digs.

Freshman setter Campbell Chabot directed the offense with 38 assists and added 12 digs, while sophomore libero Carlie Martin anchored the defense with a team-high 14 digs.

Up next, the Cavaliers host two non-conference home matches — MidAmerica Nazarene JV on Oct. 22 and Central Methodist JV on Oct. 25 — before closing out the regular season at Fort Scott in a KJCCC D-II showdown on Oct. 29.