9/20/2014 12:00:00 AM

Strausbaugh Joins 1,000 Kill Club & JU Defeats Charlotte

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For the 5th time in Jacksonville University volleyball history, a Dolphin has eclipsed the 1,000 career kills milestone. In the Dolphins' final match of the Radisson Invitational, Sammie Strausbaugh posted a game-high 20 kills to lead JU to a four-set victory (25-17, 21-25, 27-25, 25-17) over Charlotte. Now with 222 kills on the season, the junior outside hitter from Dover, Pa. currently sits at 1,021 kills in her career.

"I'm very excited," said Strausbaugh. "At the beginning of the year, one of my personal goals was to get to 1,000 kills. It's a true honor because I know there aren't many people that have reached the milestone."

Strausbaugh joined the elite club on Sept. 19 in JU's match versus Dayton where she also broke the individual match record for kills in a 3-set match with 24, a record previously set at 21 nearly 14 years ago by Carrie Argo.

"I'm most excited in seeing our team continually getting better," continued Strausbaugh. "Today was a great win, not only because we are coming off of a loss yesterday but because we're also going into a huge game tomorrow against Marquette. Hopefully we can take the momentum from this game and use it going forward."

The Dolphins faced stiff competition in the Charlotte 49ers. Entering the tourney with the second best record, the team's reputation of a well-balanced, striking team definitely fit. For much of the match, the two teams stayed on each other's heels and were quite evenly matched.

After trading set wins, the third frame proved to be the most thrilling of the four. The 49ers used a 5-0 run to jump out 20-17 and force a JU timeout. Following the break, the Dolphins came out swinging and immediately responded with a Strausbaugh kill. Olga Nushtayeva's point captured the fourth tie of the set at 23-all and the squads tied for one final time at 25-25. On the next play, Kelly Koop lifted the Fins to set point.

With Gabriella Roman at the service line and all of Swisher Gymnasium biting its nails, the teams traded volleys until a Strausbaugh attack. The ball traveled out of bounds, however, the linesman ruled to award the point to JU on a 49ers touch. After a few minutes of deliberation, the officials upheld the call and JU claimed the set, 27-25.

The Dolphins jumped out of the gate taking a 12-6 lead in the final set, capped by a block by Jizzian Gesualdo and Ana Nieto-Gomez. The Fins would never relinquish the edge and cruised to the match victory.

Strausbaugh and Koop each registered double-doubles in the affair with Koop recording 10 kills and a game-high 23 digs. Emily Laskelle added 12 kills to the Dolphin attack and All-Tournament selection Gesualdo dished 44 assists. Defensively, Nushtayeva led the way with six assisted blocks. In the win, Jacksonville improved to 8-5 on the season while Charlotte fell to 11-6.

All-Tournament Team