JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Five. For Jacksonville University women's lacrosse, that's how many ASUN Conference Regular Season titles they owned or shared a piece of heading into Sunday's game. Following the final horn, the Dolphins upped that number to six in the ASUN (seven overall) as they rolled past Kennesaw State with a 24-8 victory, Sunday afternoon at D.B. Milne Field.

"I'm ecstatic about a regular season championship. When you get to a tournament, it's like a second season and really anybody can rally – it's game to game. The regular season, you have to endure and pace through it and continue to grow. While I love the competitiveness of tournaments – that's what gets you to NCAAs and what you hope to rally for," stated Head Coach Mindy McCord following the game.

"I just think it's really special that we still continue to develop players, keep our culture strong, and compete at a high level. A regular season championship is the result of that."

The win was made even sweeter for a pair of Dolphin seniors as midfielder Ashtyn Hiron became the program's all-time leader in caused turnovers (96) and attacker Erin McGuire set a new program single-season record in assists (30).

Hiron moved ahead of former Dolphin and current assistant coach Brittney Orashen, whose 96 caused turnovers wreaked havoc on opposing teams from 2012-15; McGuire stepped past current Director of Quality Control/Program Manager Danielle Della Rocca, who handed out 29 assists during her sophomore campaign in 2015.

Eight Dolphins recorded multiple points, highlighted by a combined 20 from Hiron (4 goals, 4 assists), freshman Sarah Elms (6 goals, 1 assist), and junior Erin McGuire (2g, 3a). Junior Lillie Miller (2g, 1a) and freshmen Jenny Kinsey (1g, 2a) and Megan Prescott (2g, 1a) added three points each.

For the sixth time in her career, Hiron matched the second-highest single-game point total in program history. The Perth, Western Australia native also set a career-high in assists. Taking a cue from her mentor, Elms recorded six goals for the second consecutive game, making it the Severna Park, Md. native's sixth time this year with five or more points. Additionally, the pair combined for 14 of the Dolphins' 21 draw controls as Hiron led the team with eight and Elms added six. Meanwhile, McGuire was just one away from matching her career-high in points, goals, and ground balls.

Jacksonville (13-3, 4-0 ASUN) peppered Kennesaw State (6-10, 2-2 ASUN) with 50 shots – including 35 on cage – en route to double-digit goals in both halves. With one of the nation's most effective ten-man rides, the Dolphins held the Owls to just 10 successful clears on 23 attempts and caused 17 of KSU's 23 turnovers.

"They all played a high-level, consistent game," added Mindy McCord. "To dominate on the ride and in the draw was our focus, so it was nice to see our team stay disciplined on that end."

Though neither team was able to string together more than three goals in the opening half and the visitors saw a valiant 11-save half from goalie Lauren Hoffman, Jacksonville struck early with nine goals in the first 15 minutes. Hiron and Elms connected twice during that span and finished the half with a hat trick each, while Miller and Kinsey also notched three points.

If a 13-7 lead at halftime wasn't convincing enough, Jacksonville took its play to the next level in the second half and allowed just one goal in the final 30 minutes.

Leading the ASUN averaging 7.14 draw controls and 3.93 goals per game heading into the weekend, KSU's Siena Gore was held to just five draw controls and two goals, including the Owls' lone second-half tally – a free-position goal with 24:30 remaining.

"People forget that, as a sophomore, Ashtyn was Defensive Player of the Year, so to start the game off, we had Ashtyn playing [Gore]. They're both front runners to be mentioned as Player of the Year and we wanted to make sure we gave those players an opportunity to compete against each other and see that they could do," added Associate Head Coach Paul McCord.

"That's what the game is all about. Great players playing great players and Gore has had a really strong year. Ashtyn just had a lights-out defensive game against her; she just plays out of this world."

The Dolphins effectively shut the door on the Owls thereafter, and closed the game on an 8-0 run to make it 24-8 at the final horn.

Senior Mackenzie Groark and the sophomore duo of Kasey Stevens caused three turnovers each, while sophomore Genie Santarpio added two. Both Santarpio and Stevens picked up four ground balls each, while Groark added three.

Graduate student Emily Poelma and junior Kristen Brunoforte split time in the crease and combined for eight saves. Poelma totaled six saves – including five in the second half prior to switching out with Brunoforte – and picked up the win to move to 9-2 on the year.

Gore's three points led the way for Kennesaw State, while Emily Napierala added two. Hoffman and Grace Lascara shared times between the pipes, with Hoffman totaling all 11 saves for the Owls in the first half. Hoffman falls to 5-10 this season.

"Our team is so resilient, no matter what's thrown at them – whether it's a four-hour practice, finals. Even though they're going through life, they're so resilient to overcome; they really care about each other, love each other, and rally for each other," added Mindy McCord. "I hope to see that togetherness and team spirit continues to evolve for us because that's how you win championships. When people have each other's backs and celebrate each other, there's no better team to be part of."

The Dolphins close out the regular season next Sunday, April 29 when they play host to Stetson at 1 p.m.