JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In its return to Historic Swisher Gymnasium Friday evening, Jacksonville University volleyball clinched a spot in the ASUN Conference Tournament with a 3-1 victory over Stetson. It is the first time the Dolphins have played in Swisher this season due to damage from Hurricane Irma in mid-September.

"There were some obvious jitters about playing on our home court today, especially for some of the underclassmen," stated Head Coach Julie Darty. "It's good that we got it out of the way and a win is always nice."

Sophomore Alleah Stamatis posted her seventh double-double of the season with 50 assists and 16 digs; it is the fourth time this season that she has posted 50 or more assists in a match.  

"Alleah had a huge night," commented Darty.

Classmate Mallory Mattingly led both teams with 16 kills, while sophomore Amarrah Cooks (12 kills) and senior Olga Nushtayeva (11 kills) both added double-digit kill performances.

Senior Jessica Armstrong hit a match-best .389 behind nine kills. The Jupiter, Fla. native also matched Cooks' team-high six blocks as the Dolphins faced a tough matchup with the Hatters' Hao Jin and Shelby Connors, who totaled 10 and six blocks, respectively.

"Tons of credit to Stetson; I've never seen a team block so well and they were executing a lot of good blocks on our team. They presented some really solid blocking and we had to figure some stuff out on how to get around them and get our offense going," stated Darty.

After settling their nerves following the first two sets, the Dolphins – who are now 14-8 overall and 8-1 in the ASUN – took care of business in the final two games and outscored the Hatters 25-18, 25-16 for their third consecutive win.

Jacksonville battled back from an early deficit in the first set and, after leading 18-12 in the middle of the set, found themselves staring down a determined Hatter team who managed to tie the set at 19 and force extra points. Cooks put the set away on a bullet of a kill to the back left corner as JU led 1-0 early on, 26-24.

Stetson (3-18, 2-7 ASUN) again pressured the Dolphins early on with a 4-1 lead in set two, and a 5-0 run that put JU ahead 17-12 looked to give JU a two-set cushion. A determined 8-0 run by the Hatters capped by three blocks each from Stetson's Hao Jin and Shelby Conners lifted the visitors to a two-point advantage, 21-19. A Mattingly kill pushed the Dolphins within one, 23-22, but Stetson closed out with three-straight points to tie the match, 25-22.

Following the intermission, Jacksonville opened the third set with a 5-0 lead behind superb service from the line by sophomore Natalie Wehner. A 7-0 run in the middle of the set with kills from Nushtayeva, Armstrong, and a service ace from senior Mackenzie Swan gave the Dolphins a 16-6 lead to force the Hatters to call a timeout. The Dolphins fought off a five-point Stetson rally that brought the Hatters within four, 19-15, and closed out the set on a 6-0 run behind kills from Cooks, Mattingly, and Wehner for a 25-18 win.

The Dolphins carried their momentum into the fourth set and opened with a 10-2 advantage. Jacksonville fought off another Hatter rally, this time an 8-2 streak that brought Stetson within one, 12-11. Following a Dolphin timeout, Jacksonville saddled back up with it's own 8-3 run to put the set out of reach, 20-14. Coming out of the visitors' final timeout, Jacksonville used a 5-2 run to take the set and match, 25-16.

The Dolphins return to Historic Swisher Gymnasium tomorrow evening when they take on Florida Gulf Coast at 6 p.m.