KENNESAW, Ga. – Jacksonville University volleyball fell in three sets at Kennesaw State on Friday night in the KSU Convocation Center.
SET ONE
JU started the match up 3-2 in the first set, but KSU scored 10 of the next 11 points to go up 12-4.
Lyric Love and
Claire Mrukowski had kills on a 3-0 run for the Dolphins to cut the deficit to 12-7, but the Owls reached 20 first, thanks to a 4-0 stretch, leading 20-10. JU forced a few errors and got additional kills from Love and Mrukowski, but ultimately fell 25-15 in the opening set.
SET TWO
Alija Heins,
Anna Erickson and Love had kills in an early 3-0 run to help JU take a 5-2 lead. After the Owls rallied to take the lead, Mrukowski collected another kill to tie it back up at nine. From there, KSU scored the next four in a row, until Heins went back-to-back to cut the lead to 13-11.
Trailing 16-11, JU put together a 4-1 run with two kills by Erickson and an ace from Heins to trim the score to 17-15. A 5-1 run by the Owls gave them the 22-16 advantage, and while the Dolphins got late kills from
Jenna McNamara and Love, it was not enough in the second, falling 25-18 to go down 2-0 in the match.
SET THREE
Heins had two kills and Erickson one on a 4-1 stretch that gave JU the early 4-3 advantage. After the Owls took the lead, JU tied it at six, seven, and none, before KSU scored three in a row to go up 12-9. A 6-2 run by the Owls gave them the 15-11 lead, but Erickson scored another kill and Love combined with
Lauren Young for a block to cut it to two.
Seven of the next eight points were scored by KSU, before JU answered with four of the next five to get within five, 23-18. The rally ended there, as the Owls prevailed 25-18 to win the match.
UP NEXT
JU heads to Charlotte to face off against Queens on Saturday night at 6 p.m.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Alija Heins led the Dolphins with 9.5 points, adding an ace and a block to her eight kills
- Kariana Ayala-Drew led the team with 10 digs
- Lauren Young combined for a pair of blocks, a career-high for the redshirt-freshman
