JACKSONVILLE – Olga Nushtayeva spurred the Jacksonville University volleyball team to a fifth set Friday night against Kennesaw State University, but the Dolphins fell just short in a valiant comeback effort.

"Another gritty five-setter for us," said Head Coach Julie Darty. "I was really proud of our response in the fourth set when our backs were against the wall. We've just got to find ways to finish. It's there and we're scratching the surface, but I think there's still a little bit of hesitation with the younger players and knowing what they're supposed to be doing all the time. We talk a lot about being dialed in and having laser-like focus, and we're definitely getting there. We're closer with that focus, but it's going to take a special effort to get all the way there for our younger Dolphins. Hopefully we can respond tomorrow against Lipscomb."

The Dolphins' true potential shown through in the first set, as Jacksonville played some of its best volleyball of the season in route to winning the first four points. Kennesaw was able to tie the set at 7-7 and again at 8-8, but JU responded with a 5-0 run to lead 13-9 and force an Owls timeout. Kennesaw and JU traded runs for the rest of the set, and the Dolphins emerged victorious with a four-point margin of 25-21.

Set two was extremely combative; the two teams tied the set 10 times in the first 28 points. Mallory Mattingly and Amarrah Cooks sandwiched impressive kills around a kill by KSU's Lisel Engelbrecht to give the Dolphins a 17-15 lead, and the Owls came right back with a 5-0 run of their own to take the biggest lead of the set, 20-17. JU had opportunities to get back in the set, but ended the game with four errors in a row. After two the match was tied 1-1.

Six more ties came in the third set, but again the Owls were able to force the Dolphins to play catch up. Nushtayeva pulled JU within one, 13-14, on a big kill that bowled over the digging Owl, but a 5-0 run by Kennesaw put the set out of reach. Jacksonville impressively held off match point three times with kills by Jessica Armstrong and Mallory Mattingly, but the Owls' Anaiah Boyer closed the set with a kill of her own, giving Kennesaw a 2-1 advantage.

Down two sets to one and with their backs against the wall, the Dolphins could have surrendered the game and allowed the Owls to walk out of Swisher with a 3-1 victory. Instead, Jacksonville took the first four points with huge strikes by Armstrong and Mattingly. Kennesaw scratched its way to a 12-8 lead, but JU came roaring back with a 17-5 run to win the set 25-17. Mattingly had four kills in that run alone.

With momentum on its side, JU entered the set controlling the serve. Alleah Stamatis served brilliantly, but the Owls were still able to turn the play into a Boyer kill. Though the Dolphins would force ties at 1-1 and 5-5, Kennesaw was able to capitalize on Jacksonville's mistakes down the stretch. At match point 14-6 the Dolphins went on a 4-0 run on kills by Armstrong and Cristina Finan, but an eight-point margin was too much to overcome at match point. KSU won the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.

"Another crazy performance from Jess. What she's doing for us offensively and how she's managing errors is incredible. I thought Olga did a nice job as well. We need to get the two of them a lot more swings when we can," said Darty.

Final Stats

• Mattingly (10 kills and 10 digs) and Jizzyan Gesualdo (43 assists and 12 digs) each collected their fifth double-doubles of the season.
• Armstrong had 11 kills on a .391 hitting percentage.
• Cooks had nine kills on a .412 attack percentage, four blocks, and one dig
• Nushtayeva had 12 kills, a .286 attack percentage, and three blocks
• Swan had 22 digs, her 14th-consecutive night of double-digit digs.