DeLand, Fla. -- Madison Akins collected career-highs of 22 kills and 20 digs to help lead Stetson to a thrilling 3-2 victory (25-23, 24-26, 22-25, 25-20, 15-12) over visiting Jacksonville in an Atlantic Sun Conference match Friday night at the Edmunds Center.
Kayla Weller registered 49 assists and Alexa Drost added 22 digs for the Hatters (9-6, 1-1 A-Sun), who defeated the defending conference champions at home for the second year in a row.
After letting a 21-12 lead slip away in the second set and watching a 20-13 advantage disappear in the third set, the Hatters rallied for a 25-20 win in the fourth set to set up a decisive fifth frame. The Dolphins (9-7, 1-1) led 9-8 shortly after the changeover, but back-to-back kills by Erika White and Akins put Stetson ahead to stay.
Later, Jessica Armstrong put down a pair of kills to help the Hatters reach match point, and after one last JU tally, Shelby Connors and Alexis Villa combined on a block to give Stetson the victory.
"I am really proud because it could have gone in the other direction," Stetson head coach Kristina Hernandez said. "We could have really quickly deflated and lost a lot of confidence. I was happy that we were able to turn around, reset, and just forget about those two sets and get back in there and win the match."
Armstrong entered the match in the third set, yet still finished second on the team with 11 kills. She had four kills in her first rotation alone and finished with a .500 attacking percentage (11-1-20).
"I think putting Jessica in the match really helped us get some momentum back and some physical aggression on the outside," Hernandez said. "I think that she really changed the match up for us and really got the confidence going when we kind of struggled in the second and third set. I was really happy that she came in and did such a good job. I think she was a really big difference-maker for us."
Connors, Akins and White each collected five blocks apiece as the Hatters blocked 10 JU attacks during the match. Both teams picked up 94 digs. Joining Drost and Akins with double figure digs were Weller (15 digs) and Villa (13 digs).
"Our defense was really solid tonight and I was happy to see that from us," Hernandez said. "That is what we have been trying to work on the past few weeks. I think everybody did a phenomenal job tonight on the defensive end and gave us a lot of opportunities to score."
The Hatters improved to 3-0 on the season in five-set matches and remained undefeated at home.
Stetson will look for a weekend sweep at 3 p.m. Saturday vs. North Florida.
