Box Score

NEWARK, NJ – Jacksonville ended a thriller by tallying the final three points in the fifth set, defeating NJIT, 17-15, to seal the road victory at the Wellness and Events Center (WEC) on Friday. The Dolphins were facing elimination until a kill by junior Mallory Mattingly evened the score, 15-15, in extra points.
 
Jacksonville (4-21, 3-10 ASUN) won by scores of 17-25, 25-20, 25-22, 17-25 and 17-15 and has now won back-to-back matches for the first time this season.
 
NJIT (4-25, 2-11 ASUN) has dropped eight-consecutive matches since posting back-to-back conference victories Oct. 6 and Oct. 9.
 
NJIT forced a deciding set after recovering in the fourth stanza – staying alive with a 25-17 win. The Highlanders reeled off the final seven points – the last six of which came off of serves by senior Emily Krachenfels and three on kills by freshman Makayla Greenfield. Greenfield posted a set-high four kills, including set-point on an assist from senior Adriana Nieto.
 
Jacksonville sophomore Hannah Marchand boasted a match-high 20 kills while her teammate, senior Lauren Petersen, handed out a match-best 53 assists.
 
Junior Madi Busler led the Highlanders with 17 kills. Freshman Marissa Soistman (24) edged junior Liz Benson (22) for the team-high in assists. Nieto finished with a match-high 23 digs.

Senior Jovana Baosic had eight blocks, including a match-high seven block assists.
 
Busler again got the Highlanders off to a fast start – recording five kills in NJIT's 25-17 victory in the first set. Up 9-8, the Highlanders reeled off 16 of the final 25 points for a 25-17 edge. Benson tallied eight assists in the set including two in a row that sparked the run.
 
Jacksonville stormed back to take the next two sets, 25-20 and 25-22.
 
In the second set, Mattingly did her own "hit man" impersonation by registering a set-high seven kills. Her final two provided the Dolphins with two of their final three points to even the match. Petersen also had an eye-popping performance with 18 assists in the second stanza.
 
The third set featured an impressive Jacksonville comeback. Down 21-17, the Dolphins reeled off eight of the final nine points for a win – five stemming off serves from sophomore Madison Rayam. In fact, Jacksonville crawled back from a deeper hole after back-to-back Busler kills extended the NJIT lead to 17-10. Grad student Sara Dyslin and Marchand led the way with six and five kills, respectively.
 
The Highlanders will complete the home portion of their schedule with Senior Day on Sunday against Stetson University (13-10, 5-6 ASUN). The match is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the WEC in Newark.
 
NJIT will finish the regular season with road conference matches at North Alabama (2-19, 0-12 ASUN) on Nov. 6 and at North Florida (9-21, 4-10 ASUN) on Nov. 10.