Friday, November 17, 2006

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For the second time, No. 4 Jacksonville has upset a higher seed as the Dolphins defeated No. 1 ETSU, 3-2 (30-17, 28-30, 23-30, 31-29, 15-8) in the semifinal round of the 2006 Atlantic Sun Tournament at the Curb Event Center.

The Dolphins won the tournament in 2004 as the No. 4 seed, knocking off No. 2 Belmont in the finals. They will face either Belmont or Lipscomb in the Championship match tomorrow at 1 pm.

After scoring the match's first point, the Lady Bucs, dropped four consecutive points, and despite rallying to tie the frame twice, never regained the lead, dropping game one for just the fifth time in their last 18 matches 30-17. ETSU was uncharacteristically sloppy throughout game one, committing 11 errors and only accumulating 13 kills for a paltry .043 hitting percentage. Jacksonville by contrast, hit .323 with 12 kills against only two errors, cruising to the 13-point win.

ETSU responded in game two, hitting .409 and converting 22 kills on 44 attacks with just four errors. The Dolphins (17-14) answered the Lady Bucs challenge, hitting .348 themselves while committing just three errors. ETSU built an early six-point advantage at 11-5, but Jacksonville rallied to tie the stanza at 16. The two squads exchanged the lead twice from there, also tying the score six more times before the Lady Bucs pulled away, securing three game points at 29-26.

The Lady Bucs maintained their momentum into game three, pulling away with an early 8-1 run and easing to a seven-point win. Senior Crystal Palmer hammered out eight kills, and first team All-Atlantic Sun Jennifer Sartor and Kiselich added five each. Jacksonville aided the ETSU cause with nine errors and a .067 hitting percentage.

The Dolphins answered in game four, fighting off two match points and closing the game on a 4-0 run, forcing a decisive game five with a 31-29 win. The Lady Bucs twice held five-point leads and did not trail until the Jacksonville took the lead at 30-29.

Tomorrow's match can be seen live via the Atlantic Sun website.