JACKSONVILLE – In both of its matches Friday in the Active Ankle Challenge, Jacksonville University's volleyball team faced significant adversity. Despite the outcome of the matches, the Dolphins showed incredible resolve and character at all times, battling to the final point.
"The way the team fought until the last point was incredible," said Head Coach Julie Darty. "I like where our head and hearts are right now."
The Dolphins' first challenge came at 10 a.m. against Marshall. The Herd entered the match with a 9-3 record. Jacksonville fell behind early 1-5, but overcame that gap midway through the game with four straight kills, pulling within one point at 15-16. The Herd again pulled away, but JU fought back within one at 21-22. But Marshall closed with a 3-0 run, winning the set 25-21.
Jacksonville battled even harder in the second set, overcoming a 3-5 deficit to lead the Herd 7-5. The two teams exchanged points for the next few minutes, but the Dolphins maintained the lead through the first 21 points. But Marshall used a 6-0 run to pull away, winning the second game by seven points.
JU jumped ahead early in the pivotal set, leading through the first 27 points. But a few Dolphin attack errors allowed Marshall some breathing room, and the Herd took advantage, spitting out a 5-0 run. JU closed the gap to four points late, but couldn't close. Marshall won the set 25-20 and the match in three sets.
Mallory Mattingly led the Dolphins' offensive efforts with 10 kills, and came within one dig of her fourth double-double of the year. Jessica Armstrong had nine kills on a .304 attack percentage, and collected three blocks. Amarrah Cooks was also a force at the net, hitting .389 on the way to nine kills and three blocks. Jizzyan Gesualdo had 30 assists and eight digs, Mackenzie Swan had her 10th consecutive game of double-digit digs with 12, and Cristina Finan collected five kills, three digs, one block, and one assist.
The toughest test of the day came Friday evening against seventh-ranked Florida. The Gators entered the match with a 7-1 record and winners of seven straight. Jacksonville responded to the adversity well early, tying the set 3-3 on a kill by Gesualdo. But a few Dolphin errors allowed Florida to pull away, and the set ended in the Gators favor, 25-12.
Despite the score in the first set, Jacksonville refused to go quietly. The Dolphins kept within one point of the Gators through the first 15 points of the second set, capitalizing on Florida errors and great attacking by Mattingly and Alleah Stamatis. Jacksonville was competing so fiercely that the Gators were forced to take a timeout while leading 8-7. They'd take the point out of the timeout, but again JU responded, winning the point on a dramatic attack from Finan. Errors came into play again, but this time the errors belonged to JU. Three consecutive errors by the Dolphins allowed Florida to go on a 4-0 run. JU closed the margin to three points several times, but the Gators were relentless, taking the set 25-18.
With their backs against the wall down 0-2, the Dolphins showed their true resolve and fought more ferociously than they had in any other set that day. The first 22 points featured nine ties and three lead changes, and an incredible performance by the freshman Cooks, who scored seven of her eight kills in the final set. Each time Florida would try to pull away, JU answered with a run of its own. But in the end Florida showed why it was considered the seventh-best team in the country, closing the set with a 5-3 run to win 25-20.
The freshmen pair of Cooks and Mattingly led Jacksonville's offense with eight kills apiece. Cooks was especially impressive with a .412 attack percentage. Armstrong was third in kills with six, and had two blocks. Stamatis had four kills and six digs, and Finan had two kills, eight digs, and an assist. Gesualdo came within one dig of her fourth double-double of the season; the senior dug nine balls and dished out 23 assists. Swan had her 11th-consecutive game of double-digit digs with 12.
"This was such a fun match for us. We went in with a really focused mindset and had our goals from the start. We wanted to play loose, serve tough and just have fun. We flipped Amarrah back to the middle and she responded with such enthusiasm. We had Alleah on the right and she did such a good job managing and contributed some great defensive touches as well. What a privilege to play in front of that crowd against a great program like Florida. They're #7 for a reason," concluded Darty.
The Dolphins wrap up the Active Ankle Challenge 2 p.m. Saturday against Florida A&M.
