NEWARK, NJ—Junior outside hitter Cristina Finan recorded a match-best 11 kills, leading, visiting Jacksonville to its first women's volleyball ASUN Conference win of the season, 3-1, over NJIT Friday evening at the Fleisher Athletic Center.

Both NJIT and Jacksonville entered Friday's contest winless in the ASUN. The Dolphins came out on top, 21-25, 25-16, 25-23 and 25-16, improving to 1-3 in the conference and 4-12 overall, while the Highlanders, still searching for the first win in conference play in 2016, drops to 0-4 and 8-12 overall.

In addition to Finan's 11 kills, Olga Nushtayeva and Nathalie Wehner posted nine and eight kills respectively.  Wehner, the Dolphins 5-foot-10 freshman, combined for a .467 hitting percentage (8k, 1e, 15a).

Redshirt senior setter Jizzyan Gesualdo piled up a match-high 37 assists to go along with seven digs, five total blocks (1 solo, 4 assists) and four kills.

Defensively, junior libero Mackenzie Swan recorded 26 digs while Amarrah Cooks led the Dolphins in front of the net with seven total blocks (4 solo, 3 assists).

NJIT was paced by senior transfer Katarzyna Klocek and junior Tess Albyn with 10 kills apiece.  Junior setter Anna Rodrigues recorded her sixth double-double of the season, combining, for 31 assists and 10 digs for the Highlanders.

Sophomore libero Adriana Nieto notched a team-high 20 digs, added seven assists and three service aces.  Senior Weronika Wiezik added 13 digs followed by 10 from Rodrigues.

The Highlanders held an 8-to-4 service ace advantage, as NJIT Nieto and Jacksonville's Shelby Babowicz shared match-high honors with three apiece.

In the first frame, the set was played close early, until the Highlanders broke an 11-11 tie on a kill by Klocek, which sparked a 4-0 run, taking a 15-11 lead. 

The home team extended its lead to, six, 19-13, after four unanswered points.  Jacksonville slimmed the Highlander lead to three, 20-23, after three straight points, resulting in an NJIT timeout.  The Highlanders scored the final three points of the set, taking a 25-21 victory.  NJIT's Klocek notched a .400 hitting percentage with five kills on 10 attempts with just one error.

Jacksonville jumped out to an early 6-0 advantage in the second set.  The Highlanders rallied back to within three, 6-9.  The Dolphins scored four straight points and later extended its lead to 17-9 and went on to win, 25-16.  NJIT's Klocek posted five kills while Jacksonville's Cristina Finan paced the set with eight kills.

In the third set, the teams traded points early as the Highlanders built an 11-6 lead, resulting in the visitors to take its first timeout.  The Dolphins used a 5-0 run, knotting the set at 11.  The set saw three more ties, the final at 18 on a kill by NJIT's Klocek.  However, the Dolphins went on a 7-3 run to close out the frame, 25-23.  NJIT's Klocek and Weronika Wiezik each posted four kills.

Both teams traded points early in the fourth set as the Dolphins took a six-point advantage, 10-4 on an NJIT attacking error.  Jacksonville, leading by a comfortable margin, 19-10, never looked back to secure the match with a 25-16 victory in the fourth frame.

NJIT will return to action on Sunday at 1pm when the Highlanders host ASUN Conference opponent North Florida.