JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – "Against all odds." That saying has been Jacksonville University volleyball's mantra since Hurricane Irma damaged Historic Swisher Gymnasium, forcing the Dolphins off their home court to practice at the University of North Florida's UNF Arena. The Dolphins beat the odds again tonight and overcame a 25-13 second set loss to the Ospreys, and bounced back to win a marathon fourth set, 32-30, and defeat UNF 3-1 at UNF Arena. The win – to open ASUN Conference schedule and River City Rumble rivalry series between the two schools – marks the seventh Dolphin victory in the teams' last 11 meetings.

"We always play them tight, especially in [UNF Arena], so for us to close out the set 32-30 was a testament to our fight, our stamina, and our composure," said Head Coach Julie Darty. "They stayed calm and confident with each other, and there was no wavering with that. Everybody bought in and they fought for each other and battled like I've never seen them battle before.

"They're playing for a greater cause, with no fear and a chip on their shoulder. They're like, 'we don't have a gym, but let's go.' I'm proud of their response and the product that we put on the floor tonight, offensively, defensively, and from the service line and I'm excited as we get into more conference play."

The sophomore duo of outside hitters, Mallory Mattingly (14 kills, 12 digs) and Natalie Wehner (11 kills, 15 digs), combined for nearly half of the Dolphins' 58 kills and over a third of JU's 71 digs. Sophomore setter Alleah Stamatis tallied 48 assists, her third performance of the season with at least 45 assists, while the sophomore-freshman tandem of middle-blockers Amarrah Cooks and Hannah Marchand combined for 11 of the Dolphins' 16 block assists.

The Dolphins improve to 6-7 on the year and 1-0 in the ASUN, while North Florida falls to 6-9 overall and 0-1 in league play.

Set One

Jacksonville got rolling on a 5-2 lead early on with kills from senior middle-blocker Olga Nushtayeva, Marchand, and Wehner. UNF came within one, 6-5, but Jacksonville added three straight points to stay ahead. A 4-1 run halfway through the set and several hustle plays from Wehner, senior defensive specialist Mackenzie Swan, and freshman defensive specialist Kendall Murr with digs on seemingly impossible-to-get-to balls kept the Dolphins a step ahead of North Florida, 17-5.

"We're playing with some defensive intensity right now that I haven't seen in quite a while. There's a sense of urgency with everybody on the floor and that starts with our serve, our pass, and our defense and they're just determined to not let the ball hit the floor," Darty added.

A second 4-1 run took JU to game point, 24-21, and an Osprey miscue sealed the set for the Dolphins, 25-22.  

Set Two

The Ospreys seemed to find their footing in the second set with a 7-2 lead early on. The teams traded points before UNF took four straight for a 13-5 lead, when the Dolphins called for a timeout. After taking three of the next five points, Jacksonville struggled against a 5-1 Osprey run and faced an uphill battle against a 19-9 deficit. The Dolphins managed only four more points in the set, as UNF evened the match, 25-13.

Set Three

JU took a 3-1 lead to open the third and, after a 9-9 tie, never allowed the Ospreys more than one point at a time. Stamatis dished out assists to Nushtayeva, Wehner, and Cooks as JU led 15-11.

Said Darty, "I'm really impressed with Alleah running her offense; she got Amarrah, Olga, Hannah involved enough. We can still see more from them as we build their confidence, but I'm really proud of how we battled. We were digging balls, serving tough, and finally buying into what we need to do to beat people."

North Florida called for a timeout in hopes of curbing the Dolphins' momentum, but Jacksonville added two of the next three points to extend its lead, 18-12 and force the Ospreys to take their second and final timeout of the set. Three kills from Nushtayeva brought the set to game point, and Wehner sealed a 2-1 advantage with a kill from Mattingly, 25-18.

"Natalie's been playing really well for us; we needed someone who could score and pass, and she came in and brought it all week at practice. I had a lot of confidence in her tonight," Darty added.

Set Four

The final set was very much a set of runs as the Dolphins came out with a 7-2 lead before UNF found its way back with a 5-0 rally. Deadlocked at seven-all, the teams would battle 23 ties in the set and 12 swaps of the lead. From there on out, neither team held more than a two-point advantage as eight different Dolphins tallied points. Jacksonville stared down Osprey game points on four separate occasions before kills on a hard swing to the middle of the court by Wehner with no Ospreys around  and a precision shot to the back left corner from Mattingly gave the Dolphins the set and match, 32-30.

"Mal does a good job for us when she knows where to put the ball. Overall, she did a nice job of knowing where to move the ball and place it against their defense," stated Darty.

Mattingly added, "[Natalie] came in and stepped up and she was like the spark for us. No matter what happened, whatever adversity we've faced on our side, we just kept pushing and pushing. Everybody was on top of their game tonight and everyone played well. The mentality was, 'win, win, win, and do whatever we can to find a win,' and that's what we did."

Starting the ASUN schedule with a tough win in a rivalry match across town, Darty believes the match will boost the Dolphins' confidence heading into next weekend's matches with USC Upstate and NJIT.

"We talked about, 'we're going 1-0 today, it's eyes on the prize,' and now that we're playing one match a day, instead of the tournaments to start the season, we can fully focus on one opponent. When we're dialed in and focused, we're fully capable of doing our job and taking care of business."

The Dolphins continue ASUN action on the road next weekend when they visit USC Upstate Friday, Sept. 29 for a 6 p.m. match, before continuing their ventures north Sunday, Oct. 1 to take on NJIT at 1 p.m.