Box Score Playing arguably their toughest opponent thus far, the Bears put up a fight at home Wednesday against Jones but could not pull through in the end, falling 13-25, 25-22, 14-25, 22-25.
 
"The crowd was great tonight, and I was very proud of the girls with how they rebounded following our match at Gulf Coast," Southwest head coach Chris Laird said. "We got beat by a better team tonight. I'm very proud of our effort and our play. We never stopped playing. We have stuff we can continue to work towards because we are still working towards the conference tournament and seeding purposes."
 
The Bears (3-12, 2-6 MACCC) became locked in a battle with the Bobcats early in the opening set. Three kills from Reagan Robinson along with kill and a block each from Tierra Martin and Abby Greenlee and individual kills from AnnaLeigh Robbins and Haley Eckert helped Southwest keep pace.
 
Toward the latter half of the first, Jones went on a run to win the set.
 
In the second, another strong start from Robinson with three additional kills helped push the Bears along as they once again went toe-to-toe with the visitors. A short time later a kill from Berta Soules was followed by a pair from Robbins as Southwest went on a 7-3 run to take a 15-11 lead.
 
Even after Jones rallied to score five-consecutive, Southwest responded with a run of its own highlighted by stellar play from Eckert as the sophomore recorded two blocks and a kill during a 5-0 rally giving the Bears the upper hand once again. Southwest closed on a 5-4 run to take the second set.
 
The momentum, unfortunately, didn't last as Jones rallied in the third set and despite a pair of kills from Robinson the Bobcats didn't slow down as the Bears had difficulty keeping pace.
 
The early stages of the fourth set were highlighted by a pair of kills from Martin. Another close battle ensued and even though the combination of Soules and Robbins shined once again, the Bears couldn't push through in the end as the Bobcats got the narrow victory in the set to claim the match.
 
Southwest will face Jones in a rematch, Monday at 6 p.m. in Ellisville.