JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For just the second time in the last five years, the Jacksonville University volleyball team opened its ASUN Conference schedule with a victory as the Dolphins defeated Stetson, 3-1, in front of an electric fan base Tuesday evening at Historic Swisher Gymnasium. Four JU players reached double-digit kills, while a pair of Dolphins posted double-double efforts in the league opener.

"It was a good team win tonight. We talked a lot this week about being 0-0 going into this match and that today was the start of a new season. We played hard and it was a good start for us," commented head coach Evan Muys following the match. "We still have areas where we need to be better and we have a touch match at Liberty on Satuday, so we are excited to get back in the gym to prepare."

Powers at the net with their accuracy, both junior Briana Kipp (15 kills, 4 blocks) - tonight's Hodges Mazda Player of the Match - and freshman Sydney Bolding (13 kills, 5 digs) hit above .440 or better. Kipp slashed a 15-2-29 line to hit .448 while Bolding posted a 13-2-25 line to hit .440 in the match. Adding an impressive swing to the mix, freshman Lexi Wierzbicki put up the Dolphins' fourth double-digit kill performance with 13 to go along with her three blocks.

With double-double performances, senior Mallory Mattingly (14 kills, 10 digs) and sophomore Natalie Martin (52 assists, 16 digs) guided the offense, while senior Natalie Wehner and freshman Addyson Lewis anchored the defense with 24 and 14 digs, respectively.

Matched evenly in the opening points of the first set, the Dolphins (4-10, 1-0 ASUN) jumped on an 8-2 run in which three of JU's four blocks were scored – including solo blocks from both Kipp and Wierzbicki. A 4-0 rally put the Hatters (2-8, 0-1 ASUN) within one, 20-19, and the visitors continued to chip away through to take the set, 25-23.

Finding its mojo to kick off the second set, Jacksonville won the first point by way of service ace from Mattingly to set the tone. Tied at 8, the Dolphins extended their lead to 13-10 behind back-to-back kills from Bolding. The Hatters once again managed to deadlock the set – this time at 16 all – but the Dolphins would not be denied. Stetson called a timeout with Jacksonville up, 21-18, and despite winning the first point out of the break, Jacksonville shut the door with a 25-21 win to even the match at one set apiece.

Jacksonville controlled sets three and four, beginning with a 4-1 run punctuated by an ace from Wehner to give JU at 15-11 advantage in the third. The Dolphins never allowed the visitors more than two consecutive points from then on and cruised to a 25-17 win. Starting out much the same, Jacksonville held the lead from wire to wire in the fourth set. The Hatters, however, did not make it easy as a 9-4 blitz brought them within two, 21-19. Continuing to battle, JU steadied the ship and held off the Hatters with a 25-22 set win for the victory.

Elena Djokovic led Stetson with 17 kills, while Briana Schmid tallied a match-high eight blocks. Eva Deisa recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 20 digs.

The Dolphins hit the road this weekend with a trip to Liberty on Satuday, Sept. 28 for a meeting at 1 p.m.