Next Match:
at North Alabama
10/22/2023 | 2:00 PM
ESPN+
Oct. 22 (Sun) / 2:00 PM
at North Alabama
CONWAY, Ark. – Jacksonville University volleyball captured a road win in Atlantic Sun Conference play on Friday night, defeating Central Arkansas 3-1 at the Prince Center.
The Dolphins (7-14, 4-5) have now won four of the last five conference matches.
SET ONE
An even start to the match saw the score tied at eight in the early going. Anna Erickson had three kills to put JU up by four, as part of a greater 6-0 run by the Dolphins to make it 12-8. UCA managed a 4-0 run of its own later in the set, taking the lead back, 16-15.
The two teams traded points, with JU taking a 19-18 lead on a kill by Jenna McNamara. The lead grew to two when Rebecca Roccasin and Alija Heins went back-to-back to give the Dolphins a 22-20 advantage, the first lead by either team by more than a point since JU was up 15-13. Erickson and Lyric Love scored kills to give JU set point, and after a timeout by the Sugar Bears, Claire Mrukowski delivered a 25-21 set win with a solo block.
SET TWO
JU broke an early 5-5 tie by scoring three of the next four, but UCA scored three-straight to take a 9-8 lead. A service error, followed by an ace by Kariana Ayala-Drew and a kill by Heins put JU in front 11-9. Another 4-0 run by the Sugar Bears, and they retook the lead 14-12.
UCA went into the media timeout up by one, 15-14, and after alternating scoring, JU made its set-defining run. McNamara and Mrukowski scored kills and Kristina Nika had an ace for a stretch of three points in a row that put the Dolphins up 18-17. UCA tied it, but JU scored two straight to go up two, 20-18. The Sugar Bears could never tie it up again, with the Dolphins scoring the final four points of the set, with a block by Erickson and an ace by Heins helping JU to a 25-20 set victory to go up 2-0 in the match.
SET THREE
UCA was not content to go down without a fight, as they scored five of the first six points of the set. McNamara and Heins had kills to help JU cut the deficit to two, 7-5, but the Sugar Bears answered with four-straight to double up the score, 12-6.
The lead continued to grow, getting to as many as 10, 20-10, before JU showed some late life. Mrukowski scored a kill and the Dolphins forced a pair of attack errors to force a UCA timeout with the lead down to 21-14. JU got it as close as six, but the Sugar Bears held on to force a fourth set with a 25-17 win.
SET FOUR
The fourth set started much like the third, with UCA scoring five of the first six points. Heins had two kills and Erickson one to fuel a 3-0 run and tie the set at six. That was part of both teams going on three consecutive 3-0 runs. With the set tied at 10, the two sides traded consecutive 3-0 runs again.
Finally, JU managed to seize the momentum, getting a kill by Love and two in a row by Mrukowski to take a 17-14 lead. After a UCA timeout, the 3-0 run became a 5-0 run, when Nika scored another ace and McNamara followed with a kill to make it 19-14.
The Sugar Bears pushed back, eventually rallying to tie the set at 23, then take a 24-23 lead, looking like the match was headed to five. The Dolphins late set resolve showed again, with a Mrukowski kill tying it at 24. JU went up one on an attack error, but UCA tied it at 25. The two freshman middle blockers ended the night, with Mrukowski and Heins collecting the last two kills to give JU the 27-25 set win and the match victory.
UP NEXT
JU heads to Florence, Alabama, looking to stay hot as they battle North Alabama at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The Dolphins had 63 digs, the most in a four-set match in ASUN play this year and second-most this season in a four-setter
It was JU’s first true road win of the season, after coming close at FGCU and at Austin Peay
Four JU players finished with double-digit kills, led by Jenna McNamara’s 13
Claire Mrukowski reached double-figure kills for the first time in ASUN play, logging 10
Rebecca Rocassin registered a four-set match high of 49 assists. It was her fourth-most assists in a match this season. She added 10 digs as well
Anna Erickson had a season-high in blocks, recording one solo and three assists
Three players had double-figure assists, led by Kristina Nika’s 16
2023-10-21 02:11:04
#Volleyball #Perseveres #Central #Arkansas #Jacksonville #University
