JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville University volleyball took the court in Swisher Gymnasium for the first time in the spring 2021 season Tuesday night as they played host to UCF. After coming up just short in a back-and-forth battle in set one, the Dolphins (2-2) were unable to keep pace with the Knights (6-0), falling 3-0 (23-25, 9-25, 17-25).
 
The first set of the night was a pitched battle between the two teams from start to end. Kills from Jenna McNamara and Isa Dostal saw the Dolphins take the first lead of the evening before UCF scored four of the next six points to go ahead. A kill by Camryn Honn tied the set at five and Jacksonville briefly regained the lead on a shot by Sydney Bolding. The Knights responded with a  7-2 run to take a 12-8 advantage. JU would not go quietly though, hanging around and going on a 7-2 run of their own to tie the set at 22.  A kill from Dostal started the rally and was followed by a series of attack miscues from UCF that left the door open for the Dolphins. Despite the furious comeback attempt by Jacksonville, the Knights held on to claim the opening set 25-23.
 
In set two, Jacksonville struggled to stymie the UCF offense, with the Knights setting the tempo and controlling it for the duration of the set. The Dolphins strung together some points late, highlighted by a service ace from Addyson Lewis, but it wasn't enough as JU fell 25-9.
 
In the third set of the night, the Dolphins scored first and paced the Knights early, taking advantage of a kill from Dostal and attack errors from UCF before they pulled away towards to middle of the set to lead by as much as 11. A late surge by the Dolphins near the end of the set started by a Bolding kill made it 23-16, but a comeback was not in the cards as UCF took the third set 25-17.
 
Avery Perosa finished the night with 14 digs, while Honn recorded 15 assists. McNamara led the Dolphins with nine kills in the match.
 
Having concluded their non-conference slate of games, the Dolphin will begin ASUN Conference play this weekend, heading across town to play North Florida for the first of two matches to start the new week. Sunday's match is scheduled for a 5 PM start.