JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville University volleyball team was back on the road Friday night, but this time the trip was just down I-295 to the campus of the University of North Florida for the third River City Rumble matchup of the season. The Dolphins (2-10, 0-8) put together a strong effort on offense through the first three sets of the evening, but the Ospreys (7-8, 6-3) got going late in the match and managed to fend off a comeback attempt, winning 3-1 (25-20, 17-25, 27-25, 25-18).
 
Sydney Bolding started the evening off for the Dolphins with a kill on the first serve of the night before the Ospreys went on a run to go in front 6-3. JU responded with three-straight of their own with kills from Camryn Honn and Bolding sandwiched around a UNF attack error to tie things at 6-6. Thing continued to go back and forth until Jacksonville went on a 5-2 run to lead 12-10 following a kill by Autumn DeSantis. UNF then scored nine of the next eleven points to lead 19-14. JU tried to stage a late rally behind Isa Dostal, Honn and DeSantis but UNF held on to win set one 25-20.
 
Jacksonville came out as the aggressors in set two, setting the pace early and leading early and often. A UNF attack error and a kill by Bolding made it 2-0 quickly as JU scored seven of the first 10 points in the set, capped with a 4-0 highlighted by kills from Barbora Romancova, Honn, DeSantis and an ace from Addyson Lewis. The Ospreys mounted a steady march back to tie the set at 10-10 and briefly lead on the next point, but Jacksonville took advantage of a pair of UNF errors and an ace by Honn to retake the lead for good in the set. Leading 13-12, a 6-1 run from the Dolphins on the strength DeSantis and Jenna McNamara pushed things to 19-13 and allowed JU to cruise to a 25-17 win and tied the match at 1-1.
 
Set three was a back-and-forth affair from start to finish, as both teams had settled in and adjusted to the flow of the match. Scoring runs in the early going were no longer than three points as the lead swapped hands several times until JU scored three in a row to lead 12-10. UNF rallied and retook the lead 16-14 over the points that followed before back-to-back kills from Bolding sparked a 4-0 streak to catapult the Dolphins back in front 20-19. Once more the Ospeys battled back to take the lead at 22-21 and once more Jacksonville answered, this time with kills from Isa Dostal and Romancova to lead 23-22. The set went down to the wire and JU had chances to seal things, but some untimely service errors in the waning moments allowed UNF to eke out a 27-25 win.
 
 The night's fourth set started out much the same way as set three, with both teams trading blows and exchanging the lead on several points early in the offing. With JU trailing 9-8, Dostal recorded a kill that started a 5-0 run that propelled the Dolphins back in front 13-9. The Ospreys then strung together a run of their own that ended up being the difference in the match, outscoring Jacksonville 11-2 to take a 20-15 edge. Jacksonville scored on a trio of errors but was unable to get a late offensive push to rally as UNF took the set 25-18 to win the match.
 
DeSantis finished with a career-high 14 kills and hit .244 for the match. Bolding finished with nine kills and three blocks while McNamara and Romancova recording eight kills each, with the latter also assisting on five blocks. Gyrani Rogers led the Dolphins with 12 digs while Lewis added 10 of her own. Honn dished out 38 assists while collecting eight digs and a pair of kills. JU also posted five service aces and hit .213 in the match, including a .317 mark in set three.
 
The two teams will face off one final time in the regular season Saturday, with first serve once again set for 7 PM.