JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After squandering an early lead, Jacksonville University volleyball rallied to defeat Kennesaw State in five sets on Saturday night in Swisher Gymnasium.
The Dolphins (5-13, 2-4) had their backs against the wall late in the fourth set, but prevailed in extended fashion before capturing the decisive fifth to sweep it first Atlantic Sun Conference home weekend of the season.
SET ONE
JU got off to a nice start, using a Jenna McNamara kill to go up 8-5. KSU cut it to one twice, and finally tied things on a 5-1 run. Rebecca Rocassin registered an ace to push JU back ahead 15-13 and the Owls took a timeout. Out of the break, KSU scored four of the next five to gain the advantage, 17-16 and the lead grew to two, 20-18, when the Dolphins decided to take time to regroup.
The two sides traded the next three points after action resumed, with Anna Erickson scoring a kill and an attack error by the Owls getting JU back within one. The Owls scored again to make it 23-21 and JU took its last timeout. The break was good, as Lyric Love picked up consecutive kills to tie the score at 23. After another KSU timeout, Rocassin delivered back-to-back aces to end the set, with a 25-23 win giving JU the early match lead.
SET TWO
An early JU lead turned into an 8-8 tie, with the two sides going back-and-forth and the score tying three more times until KSU used a 4-0 run to go up 15-12. The lead grew to four, until Erickson scored twice and Love added another kill for a 3-0 run for the Dolphins to cut the deficit to 17-16.
The Owls came back with three of the next four points to stretch the advantage to three again, 20-17. Barbora Hošková had two kills and Kristina Nika scored consecutive aces to cut it to one again, 22-21, and KSU took a timeout.
The Owls scored immediately out of the stoppage, but Alija Heins and Hošková combined for a block to answer. KSU got to set point, but then a service error gave the Dolphins life again, until the Owls put it away with a kill to win 25-23 and tie the match at one.
SET THREE
KSU carried momentum into the third set, opening up a 6-1 lead that promoted an early timeout by JU. The Dolphins chipped away at the deficit, getting it to 8-5 on a kill by McNamara, but the lead grew to eight, 15-7, after a 6-1 run for the Owls.
JU scored four of the next five, but could never get any closer than five, dropping the third set 25-15 to fall behind 2-1 in the match.
SET FOUR
Things tightened up again in the fourth, and was tied at 12 after a back-and-forth start. JU went up by two after Erickson scored two more kills in a stretch of three-straight points for the Dolphins. The Owls rallied to score six in a row, taking an 18-14 lead and leading to a JU timeout. The Dolphins took a second with the score 20-16, and an ace by KSU made it a five-point lead late in the set. JU scored, but the Owls immediately answered twice, and led 23-18 when the Dolphins felt their backs hit the wall.
Hošková scored a big kill to help jumpstart the rally, with Heins and Rocassin denying a KSU attack and McNamara delivering a kill to get it to 23-21 and force the Owls to call a timeout. The run did not stop there, however, with Heins registering another block, this time with an assist from McNamara, and then delivering a punishing kill to complete the 5-0 run to tie it at 23.
The Owls got to match point out of the break, but a kill by McNamara and another block by Heins and Rocassin revved up the crowd and put JU in front, 25-24. The Dolphins then had five chances at set point, before finally prevailing 30-28 on McNamara’s fifth kill of the set.
SET FIVE
The fifth started close and remained throughout. KSU led 3-1 early, but Erickson and Love kills fueled a 3-0 run to go up 4-3. KSU retook the lead and did not relinquish it again until another 3-0 run, this one with a kill by Rocassin and a combo block by Heins and McNamara made it 10-8 and forced a timeout by the Owls.
KSU tied it at 10, then took a 12-11 and 13-12 lead, but once again, JU had an answer late in a set with the match on the line. Erickson tied it at 13 with a kill, and the Dolphins forced an attack error to take the lead. After a final KSU timeout, Hošková finished off a long rally with her 12th kill of the night to deliver the victory.
COACH’S COMMENTS
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Jacksonville remains home, playing host to Bellarmine and Eastern Kentucky next weekend. The match against the Knights is scheduled for Friday night at 7 p.m. at Swisher Gymnasium and will air on ESPN+.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Anna Erickson matched her season-high with 18 kills, and has now scored double-digit kills in sixth-straight matches, which is a career-high
- She was joined in double-figure kills by Lyric Love and Barbora Hošková, who both had 12, and which was a season-high for the latter
- The Dolphins tied a season-high with 13 total blocks
