JACKSON- The Millsaps Majors gave the defending SAA champion Berry Vikings all they could handle, but dropped a five-set match (27-29, 25-18, 26-24, 21-25, 15-13) at home on Friday.

The Majors ground out a lengthy first set, going into extra points in the race to 25 (need to win by two). The Majors rode the service of Mary Wilson and used their defense to score the final two points of the set to get the early lead.

Berry fought back quickly, taking the second set at 25-18. The Majors could never get on track in the second, falling behind by four points early. The Majors would rally to get within 19-17 but a late run by the Vikings took down the set.

The next three sets were back and forth. The Majors had an opportunity to lock down the third set, only to see a furious rally by the Vikings won them the final three points and a 2-1. In the fourth, the Majors closed out in fine fashion, turning a 20-20 deadlock into a 25-21 win.

The fifth set saw more back-and-forth action as the crowd grew raucous. After Berry scored the sets first two points, the Majors rallied to win five of the next six. The teams traded points until the Majors held a 13-12 advantage. A service ace and a strong attack won Berry the final three points and the match.

As the box score indicates, this was a contest filled with lengthy rallies and great defense. Neither team had an attack percentage over .100 and each team was over 140 digs. Several points lasted over a minute, bringing a strong Majors' crowd to their feet.

Caroline McKey finished with an astonishing 44 digs and five Majors had double-digit digs. McKey and Lexus Andrews each had double digit kills while Mary Wilson and Taylor Ziegler led the way in assists.

The Majors sit at 500 in the conference at 3-3 and will take on the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels tomorrow evening at 5pm.