AUBURN, Ala. – Jacksonville University split its two games on Saturday, winning a five-set match over Stephen F. Austin and losing a five-set match against Auburn University.
"Well, today was quite a long day. I think that this morning we came out playing the way we always want to play on our side of the net," said Head Coach Julie Darty. "We let Auburn push us around and take us out of our element. We made some weird errors and just kind of couldn't recover. Later against SFA, we were back on the roller coaster and just couldn't play consistent volleyball. We were consistently inconsistent today which is not something I want to be…why not play 10 sets in one day…I mean we got our fair share of volleyball in so at least we are gaining experience and have faced plenty of adversity."
Despite winning the first two sets, the Dolphins couldn't quite close out and dropped their first match, 3-2, to Auburn. Emily Laskelle had an impressive 20 kills against Auburn (2-0), and Lauren Gresham had 16. Mayara Prestes recorded 31 digs, and Jizzyan Gesualdo compiled 46 assists. Prestes also led in aces with 3.
The first set was extremely close through the first 12 points; tied 6-6. A kill by Auburn's Brenna Mcllroy got the Tigers on track though as they won the next six points. Coach Darty called a timeout, and that proved to be what the Dolphins needed. They bounced back to within 4 at 14-10, and then pulled within two 17-15 before Auburn Head Coach Rick Nold called a timeout. Auburn pulled away again, increasing their lead to 21-17, causing Darty to use her second timeout. That staunched the bleeding, and the Dolphins quickly won the next six to jump out to a 22-21 lead. The Tigers and Dolphins traded points to close out the set, and JU won the first set 25-23 thanks to a kill by Laskelle and an Auburn attack error.
"During our first set I thought we came out fearless and played some solid volleyball. We did a nice job staying with them and really scrapping and managing our risk." said Darty.
The second set was even closer than the first; there were seven ties and six lead changes. Auburn once again claimed early control of the set, holding a 4-2 advantage, but Jacksonville never let the lead get higher than two. Midway through the set the Dolphins started really pressing and attacking with confidence, pulling within one of Auburn five times before finally tying it up at 16-16. Once the Fins tied it, they proceeded to take a commanding lead, winning the next four points and nine of the final 14. Jacksonville took the second set 25-21.
"During the second set I really liked our composure and confidence," said Darty. "Even though we were down, we weren't playing like that. We were competing super hard and had a really nice confidence about the way we were playing together."
The third set was once again incredibly close. The Dolphins took the first point, but after that the set was very much a back-and-forth affair. Neither team could stretch the lead to more than three points until a media timeout at 15-15. 10 of the final 12 points would go to the Tigers as they dominated the third set, capitalizing on four service errors and six attack errors by the Fins in the pivotal set.
"I knew that a different Auburn team was going to come out of that locker room after the break," said Darty. "Rick Nold made some changes and we really couldn't respond and recover to those adjustments. Auburn came out hard and fast and we kind of sat back and let them take control."
Auburn continued their impressive scoring streak in the fourth set, winning the first three points. JU would tie it up at 4-4, but the Tigers would never surrender the lead completely, jumping out to a lead of 9 points twice in the set. The Fins narrowed the margin to two at 23-21, but an Auburn timeout put an end to the mini-run by Jacksonville. They closed the set 25-22, winning on a Dolphin service error.
"Auburn serves super tough and once they got going and got in system, they were a dangerous team to defend," said Darty. "We just couldn't stop them."
Even in the final set of the match it wasn't clear until the last second who would win the game. JU won the first two points, but Auburn tied it 2-2. There were four more lead changes and four more ties in the fifth, but when the Tigers finally took the lead at 7-6, they would refuse to let go for the rest of the match. They jumped out to leads of two, two, three, two, three, four, and five points, and closed the game with a 15-10 winner by Auburn's Macy Reece.
"I really thought that we would have responded better in the fifth set," said Darty. "This is the first time we have been in a fifth set situation this year so I think that it kind of took us by surprise that we're here, with this SEC team, and we just didn't have an answer for what Auburn was doing. We talk about being the team that doesn't make errors and manages risk, but Auburn forced us to make some errors that really took us out of our element."
Control was the theme of the match against SFA; whomever took early control of each set would keep control throughout. The Dolphins dominated the first set, building up a six-point lead at 12-6. The Ladyjacks chopped their way back into it, pulling within two at 15-13. But Jacksonville would never let SFA get any closer than that, eventually winning by a seven-point margin, 25-18. In the second set SFA responded, taking the lead on the first point and never looking back. The Fins would tie it at 1-1, but never get any closer, and would eventually lose the set 25-13. Coming out of the locker room the Dolphins took charge once again, grabbing the lead early and never letting SFA do more than tie. The Ladyjacks did tie it up three times, but Jacksonville prevailed and won 25-18. The fourth set looked like it would go the JU way, but SFA's Justice Walker refused to let the game end that quickly. She had five kills in the set, and propelled the Ladyjacks to a 25-16 fourth set win. The pinnacle set was the closest of the match, with neither team really taking control in the first 10 points. But then Koop threw the team on her shoulders and scored six kills in the fifth set, leading the charge as the Dolphins won the final set 15-10.
"This weekend was a great start for us," said Darty. "I think this is a solid foundation for us to go back to Jacksonville and build on. We have plenty to work on this week in practice, and the refreshing part is that this team is so realistic and knows we have lots to work on. They want to grind. They want to get after it and get better. They weren't content with the way we played on Saturday and that's refreshing as a coach to have a team that is so honest about the level they are playing at. I appreciate that they weren't satisfied with 2-1 and they want to get better."
Laskelle once again led in kills, compilling 16 in five sets. Gesualdo totaled 41 assists, and Prestes led in digs with 27. Gresham, Laskelle, Gesualdo, and Koop each had double-doubles.
Laskelle and Koop were named to the All-Tournament team. Laskelle had 48 kills, 4 aces, and 43 digs in three matches, and assisted on 13 blocks. Koop tabulated 30 kills, 4 aces, and 37 digs in three matches.
Fans can follow all the action from the 2015 season on JUDolphins.com, through twitter @JUVolleyball, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JacksonvilleUniversityAthletics.
