DELAND, Fla. – The Jacksonville University volleyball team hit above .300 in sets one and three and junior Mallory Mattingly recorded her second-straight match with 20 or more kills, but the Dolphins relented a 3-1 battle on the road at Stetson in the ASUN Conference opener, Tuesday evening at Edmunds Center.

Graduate student Sara Dyslin and sophomore Hannah Marchand combined for 12 blocks in the effort.

The Dolphins (1-12, 0-1 ASUN) hit .389 in the opening set and kept the pressure on the Hatters throughout, including a decisive 6-2 run down the stretch to hold a 21-17 advantage. Though the Hatters managed to bring it back within one, 21-20, Jacksonville closed out the set on a 4-1 run to take the opener, 25-21.

Jacksonville used a 5-2 run to take control of the second game after Stetson opened the set with back-to-back points. Later tied at 16-16, Stetson took six straight points for a 22-16 advantage – one that the Dolphins were unable to overcome as the Hatters tied up the match, 25-20.

Coming out firing in the third, Jacksonville quickly used a 5-0 run force Stetson (9-4, 1-0 ASUN) to call a timeout early. The Dolphins never took their foot off the gas and charged out to a 15-10 lead, but the Hatters took advantage of a 5-1 rally to come back within one, 16-15. The Dolphins countered with a 4-1 rally with Dyslin putting the exclamation point with her second solo block of the match for a 20-16 lead. However, Stetson stormed back with a 4-0 rally to tie the set up before taking the final three points for a 25-23 set win.

Two early runs – a 6-1 run from the Dolphins and a 4-0 Hatter rally – set the tone early in the fourth. It turned into a point-for-point battle through the middle of the set, but the hosts came out on top behind an 8-2 run to take the match, 25-18.

Graduate student Hailey Devlin and Marchand posted 12 and 11 kills, respectively, while junior Natalie Wehner added a match-high 18 digs and senior Lauren Petersen finished with 33 assists.

Stetson was led by Eva Deisa's 14 kill-10 dig double-double, while Naina Ivanova matched Wehner's 18 digs.

The Dolphins return to Swisher Gymnasium this Friday, Sept. 21 when they take on Florida Gulf Coast at 7 p.m.