JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --- After three days of volleyball on the court of Swisher Gymnasium, the Jacksonville Dolphins closed out the weekend with a sweep of the Florida A&M Rattlers (25-19, 25-13, 25-15) to close out the Dolphin Volleyball Classic presented by Hampton Inn East Regency.
The Dolphins were led by senior
Claire Mrukowski's 10 kills. She also hit a blistering .714 on the day to lead the team. Mrukowski was one of JU's two All-Tournament team honorees. She was joined by freshman
Jaylyn Tuiasosopo who finished with 27 kills for the weekend.
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Freshman Jaylyn Tuiasosopo (5) and senior Claire Mrukowski (8) receive their All-Tournament Team honors.
Set One
Jacksonville started hot, leading 11-6 early in the first. Mrukowski and Tuiasosopo were hot early, each tallying four kills in the first set.Â
As the Dolphins were pulling away, Florida A&M ripped four-straight points to cut the deficit to three. Sophomore
Kathryn Adler ended the run with a kill to pull momentum back in JU's favor. The Dolphins closed it out with three-straight points, with Mrukowski and Heins winning at the net for the set-winning block.
Set Two
The momentum snowballed into a dominant second set. Jacksonville took six of the first seven points to take full control of the game. A kill from
Abbie Tuyo, another from Adler and a Tuyo service ace had the Dolphins double up their opponents, 12-6.
Florida A&M scored first out of the technical timeout, but Jacksonville rolled to the finish, winning 10 of the final 13 points to close out a decisive 25-13 win --- JU's largest set win by margin of victory all weekend.
Set Three
With two sets already secured, JU took care of business to see out the win. Three service aces off of freshman
Ana Nastase's powerful serve helped Jacksonville set the tone early, taking a 10-4 lead.
The Dolphins maintained complete control of the game, and they took the final five points of the set to secure the match win.Â
Match Notes
- Mrukowski reached double-digit kills for the second time this season.
- Nastase averaged 5.3 assists per set, a new season high.Â
- Redshirt freshman Addison Krieger finished the match with four blocks. For the weekend, she tallied a team-best 15 blocks (1.5 per set).
Up Next
The Dolphins will hit the road for the Panther Challenge, hosted by #2 Pittsburgh. Jacksonville starts their tournament run against the Panthers Friday night at 7 PM. The match will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
