JACKSONVILLE – Dolphin volleyball entered Saturday's match against Auburn University with an 0-3 record against the Tigers, and Jacksonville University couldn't overcome that history in its final game of the Auburn Invitational, losing in three sets.

JU led through the first eight points, but an 8-0 run by Auburn gave the Tigers a 12-4 lead. A kill by Olga Nushtayeva and an ace by Mackenzie Swan got the Dolphins back in it, inspiring an 8-2 run for Jacksonville to put the score at 14-12 Auburn. The two teams traded points for a bit, but Auburn closed the set with a 10-4 run to take it 25-17.

The Dolphins again took an early lead, and though the Tigers briefly led 7-6, JU fought back to hold the advantage through the first 27 points of the set. The game was tied at 15-15, but three consecutive Dolphin errors gave Auburn an 18-15 lead, and though the Dolphins trimmed that lead to two points twice, the Tigers stayed ahead and won the set 25-19.

There were seven ties and six lead changes in the first 18 points of the third set, but Auburn took advantage of three consecutive aces to go on a 9-2 run, which gave the Tigers an 18-11 lead heading into the Dolphin timeout. The set ended on 7-3 Auburn run, giving the Tigers a 3-0 victory.

Jessica Armstrong and Mallory Mattingly tied for the lead in kills with seven apiece. Jizzyan Gesualdo had 18 assists and seven digs, and Swan collected 15 digs. Cristina Finan had four kills and eight digs, Natalie Wehner had seven digs, and Nushtayeva collected three total blocks.

Armstrong was named to the All-Tournament team.

The Dolphins return to the court next Friday at 10 a.m. against at the Active Ankle Challenge in Gainesville, Fla.