MOBILE, Ala. – Jacksonville University volleyball battled through day two of the South Alabama Invite, ultimately dropping both games of the day.
 
The Dolphins (0-3) were bested by Florida A&M in three sets in their early afternoon contest, and also fell in three to the host school, South Alabama, in the nightcap.
 
GAME ONE
 
JU blew open the first set with a quick 3-0 lead, fueled by kills from outside hitters Autumn Desantis, Cami Kelsay, and an ace by Gyrani Rogers. The Dolphins were able to maintain a steady lead until the Rattlers battled back to tie the game at six. From there, the set became a back-and-forth scoring affair as the score was tied nine more times until reaching points 23-22, in favor of Florida A&M. A kill followed by an attack error on JU, gave the Rattlers the set one victory, 25-22.

Set two began in reverse fashion, as the Rattlers took advantage of the Dolphins' shaky defense to get ahead, 4-1. A combination of JU errors and a solid offense for FAMU, let the Rattlers achieve its biggest lead, 17-8. After going on a 6-0 scoring run, the Rattlers walked off the court with its second set victory, 25-12.
 
The third set consisted of an alternating point rhythm until the Rattlers completed another 6-0 run to change the score to 9-2. Immediately after, another kill by Kelsay and ace by Rogers helped JU cut the Rattlers lead to 9-5. FAMU remained in tight control until the Dolphins grasped a 3-0 run to force the Rattlers to take its first time out of the game with the score at 23-16. However, the scoring run would not be enough as the Rattlers would take the match victory with a 25-20 set three win.
 
Despite the loss, Kelsay shined at the net after earning the most kills for the Dolphins with eight. Camryn Honn continued to show why she is a key factor of the JU offense, with 21 assists and four kills.
 
GAME TWO
 
JU opened up the second game of the day, playing from behind for much of it against the Jaguars, who took an early lead, and never relinquished it in set one, prevailing 25-20.
 
Set two saw the Dolphins come out ready to react to everything South Alabama threw at them. Head Coach Maggie Couture challenged a call early in the set and got it reversed, which seemed to energize the team. From there Kyndaal Stansberry notched a kill and JU started to build a lead for the first time.
 
After a Jaguar rally, JU called time out, and both teams came out of the break trading punches. Neither team could separate until Zoë LaBreche notched a kill to give the Dolphins a 16-15, which grew to 20-16 when Cami Kelsey capped off one of the best stretches of the game with another kill.
 
Stansberry made it match point on a kill, but USA rallied to tie it at 24 and push the game to extra time, where the Jaguars captured the set, 27-25.
 
In the conclusive third set, JU scored first, but USA quickly took the lead and were able to keep the Dolphin rallies at bay for the remainder of the evening, winning 25-16 in the final set.
 
LaBreche finished the evening with double-digit kills to lead all Dolphins, and Honn continued her helping ways with 19 assists, while Kariana Ayala led the team in digs, with 13.
 
JU opens up the home portion of the schedule back in Swisher Gym next weekend, as the Dolphins play host to New Orleans, Drake and UNCW in the JU Invitational, presented by Hampton Inn East Regency.