JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sammie Strausbaugh hammered down 17 kills to lead the Jacksonville University volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Northern Kentucky University in Friday night's Atlantic Sun Conference match.
 
With the loss, NKU fell to 16-9 overall and 5-6 in A-Sun play heading into Saturday's matinee at North Florida. The Norse are fighting for their first ever qualification to the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament.
 
Keely Creamer and Jayden Julian each had nine kills to lead the Norse, while Jenna Ruble added seven kills. Taylor Snyder posted a double-double with 27 assists and 12 digs. Defensively, Mel Stewart led NKU with 16 digs.
 
Emily Laskelle joined Strausbaugh in double-figures with 10 kills for Jacksonville (14-12, 5-6 A-Sun). Jizzian Gesualdo posted 37 assists and five kills while Rachel Miller, with 21 digs, and Gabby Nieto-Gomez, with seven blocks, paced the Dolphins' defensive efforts.
 
The Dolphins closed Set 1 on a 17-6 run in claiming a 25-16 win in the opening stanza. Jacksonville hit .306 on the set with Strausbaugh picking up five kills in the set. JU came back in Set 2 to pick up 10-straight points early, and 15 of 16 in a row, to cruise to a 25-15 victory and carry a 2-0 lead into intermission.
 
A 6-1 run by the Norse in Set 3, keyed by two kills each from Ruble and Julian, gave the Norse a 15-11 lead that they carried to set point at 24-21. The Dolphins came back to tie it up with a three-point rally of their own, bookended by kills from Laskelle. The Norse had two more cracks at set point but could not find the floor before Jacksonville picked up four of the last five points of the match, including three kills from Strausbaugh, to take a 29-27 win and sweep the match.
 
After Saturday's match, the Norse will return home for the final weekend of the regular season, hosting Kennesaw State on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by a 3 p.m. match on Saturday against South Carolina Upstate. For more information on Norse volleyball, follow @NKUNorseVBall on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.