DELAND, Fla. – Opening the first of three contests this week, the Jacksonville University volleyball team put up a battle against in-state rival and ASUN Conference foe Stetson at DeLand High School, Wednesday evening. While the result went in favor of the Hatters, 3-0, the Dolphins saw impressive performances from freshman Sydney Bolding and senior Mallory Mattingly.

Bolding hit an astounding .688 with 11 kills and no attack errors for her sixth match of the season hitting .500 or better, while Mattingly served up a trio of aces to move into sixth all-time in program history. With a team-high 15 kills and eight digs to go along with her three aces, Mattingly earned Hodges Mazda Player of the Game for her efforts.
 

Jacksonville (7-18, 3-8 ASUN) tied things up six times early in the first set and stayed within one, 14-13. Stetson then posted three straight points before the Dolphins called a timeout. The Dolphins continued to keep the opener interesting as a kill from freshman Sydney Bolding brought JU back within two, 19-17. With three of the final five points, the Hatters took an early lead, 25-20.

Back-to-back kills from Mattingly sandwiched by the first of her three aces swiftly bolstered the Dolphins' lead in the second set, 9-6. Jacksonville continued to hold the Hatters at a distance – with three points separating the teams as JU extended its lead with the second of Mattingly's aces for a 16-13 advantage. With kills from Elena Djokovic and Brianna Scmid, Stetson slipped ahead by two, 19-17. As the set looked to go into extra points with deadlocks at 19, 21, 22, and 23, ultimately the Hatters edged out the final two points, 25-23.

Once more a tight battle through the third set, Jacksonville held Stetson (10-11, 7-4 ASUN) with 10 separate ties in the score, including at 15 all. Despite a three-point run by the Hatters, Jacksonville answered back to bring the set within one, 18-17. From there, the Hatters forced a 7-2 run to take the match, 25-19.

Freshman Lexi Wierzbicki contributed nine kills in the effort, while sophomore Natalie Martin added 35 assists. Defensively, juniors Bailey Foy and Briana Kipp notched a trio of blocks each, with senior Natalie Wehner leading the team behind 13 digs.

The Dolphins return to action tomorrow evening (Oct. 31) as they welcome North Alabama to Historic Swisher Gym at 7 p.m. Fans are invited to wear their Halloween costume and join us in trick or treating with Dunk'n.