VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – McMurry University Volleyball came away with a thrilling five-set, 21-25, 25-17, 25-22, 22-25, 18-16 victory Friday afternoon at Virginia Wesleyan College. Junior right side hitter Jordyn Burnell slammed down the game-winning kill as the War Hawks (1-0) outlasted the Marlins (0-1) in the fifth set.

McMurry fell behind 4-1 early in the final set, but rallied for four straight points. After trading blows, the War Hawks scored the final three points of the match for the final margin.

After dropping the first set, the War Hawks stormed back for wins in the second and third sets, but the Marlins scored the final four points in the fourth set to set up the thrilling finish.

Burnell was all over the court for the War Hawks, compiling a team-high 40 digs defensively. The 40 digs are the third highest total in a single match in program history. She also tallied nine kills, three assists and two aces.

The War Hawks used a balanced attack offensively, with four players recording 11 or more kills and two more with nine. Senior outside hitter Jasmine Jones led the way with 19 kills, while junior middle blocker Justice McGowan totaled 14 on a spectacular .700 attacking percentage. For the match, the War Hawks hit .239 as a team compared to just .131 for the Marlins.

Junior setter Emarie James dished out 29 assists, while sophomore setter Lauryn Davis had 26 helpers. Davis and James also had 17 and 10 digs, respectively, while senior libero Odalis Rodriguez had 25 digs.

In their second match of the day, the War Hawks swept Penn State University Berks 25-9, 25-11, 25-19. A full recap of that match will be published later.

McMurry returns to action tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. as the War Hawks take on Geneva College and at 10:30 a.m. against Randolph-Macon College to wrap up the Virginia Wesleyan Invitational.