JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville University volleyball battled tough all night, but ultimately fell 3-1 to North Florida on Tuesday night at UNF Arena.
 
The Dolphins (3-12, 0-3) won the third set to extend the match, and pushed the Ospreys to the brink in all four on the night.
 
SET ONE
 
JU struggled to get in a rhythm early, not scoring back-to-back points at any point until calling a timeout, trailing 11-5. After the timeout, Jenna McNamara landed a kill, which sparked a 4-0 run for the Dolphins, cutting the deficit to 11-9 and forcing UNF to take its first timeout.
 
The Ospreys responded to the regrouping, scoring four of the next five to go up 15-10. Another 3-0 JU run featured two blocks, with Alija Heins combining with Rebecca Rocassin on one and Anna Erickson on the other to make it 15-13. UNF never led by more than four, but JU was never closer than two, until another combo block by Lyric Love and Erickson highlighted a 3-0 run to tie the set at 20. UNF immediately rattled off three points in a row to go up 23-20, leading the Dolphins to call a second timeout.
 
Barbora Hošková scored a kill and assisted Heins with a block, but a service error gave the Ospreys set point. Back-to-back blocks tied it at 24, and Erickson rallied JU again to tie it at 25. The Dolphins could never get that timely point to take the lead however, and UNF closed out the opening set 27-25.
 
SET TWO
 
The second set started with a block by Love and Hošková, and they combined for another one point later. That jumpstarted a 4-0 JU run that prompted an early UNF timeout with the score 5-1. It grew to 7-2, before a 4-0 streak by the Ospreys cut it to one. The block party started back up, with Heins and Lauren Nelson denying the next two UNF attacks to make it 9-6.
 
The Ospreys rallied to tie it at nine, but six of the next eight points went to the Dolphins, with a pair of service aces by Rocassin and Kariana Ayala-Drew the exclamation points of a 15-11 lead. With JU up 17-13, UNF used a timeout to regroup, and came out scoring three-straight to cut the deficit to one. The lead grew to three again for the Dolphins, but a 4-0 run by the Ospreys not long after gave them a lead, 21-20, for the first time in the set.
 
JU tied it at 21, but UNF scored the final four to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
SET THREE
 
After an early UNF lead, Erickson and Heins had kills and Kristina Nika dropped in an ace for a 3-0 run that put JU ahead 6-5. A stretch of five of six points for the Dolphins after that extended the lead to 11-7. The Ospreys answered with a 5-0 run to go back in front 12-11, and JU called a timeout. It stayed tight, with neither team leading by more than two and the lead changing hands multiple times, until a quick two-point spurt by UNF to go up 22-20. After a JU timeout, McNamara delivered a kill, leading to a quick time call by the Ospreys.
 
The Dolphins stayed hot out of the break, though, with Hošková delivering a kill and combining with Love for a block to go up 23-22. It was Erickson who finished it off with her eighth kill of the night, forcing a fourth set with a 25-23 win.
 
SET FOUR
 
The Dolphins had to dig themselves out of an early hole, trailing by as many as four in the opening moments of the fourth set. McNamara had a kill and Love added a thunderous block to trim it to one, 9-8. Soon after, JU capitalized on five straight points, with Love scoring a kill and assisting Hošková on a block to give the Dolphins the 15-12 lead. A quick 3-0 burst by UNF tied it back up. Hošková and Erickson went back-to-back, but four-straight for the Ospreys gave them a 19-17 lead.
 
An attack by Hošková was initially ruled out, but after a challenge by JU, was overturned, allowing the Dolphins to end the run and get back within one, 19-18. The two sides traded points after that, until two scored in a row by UNF gave them a 23-20 lead and led to a JU timeout. A service error caused UNF to a take a timeout of its own, but they scored two of the final three points out of the break to win the set 25-22, and take the match in four.
 
UP NEXT
 
JU concludes its Atlantic Sun-opening four-game road trip at Austin Peay on Saturday, facing off against the Governors at 7 p.m.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
 

• Barbora Hošková registered 11 kills and 2.5 blocks, both season-highs
• The Dolphins 13 total blocks matched a season-high, previously recorded against Army on September 8
• Rebecca Rocassin tallied 40 assists, the second time she has hit the 40 assist mark in three ASUN games