JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman battled back from a 2-0 deficit Saturday afternoon away to Jacksonville before suffering a five-set nonconference volleyball defeat to the homestanding Dolphins during the JU Invitational presented by Hampton Inn East Regency inside Swisher Gymnasium. The Wildcats fell on scores of 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 14-25, 15-12.
 
After dropping the opening two sets, Bethune-Cookman (3-9) would hold Jacksonville to just .045 hitting in the third set. Jasmine Robinson, a senior outside hitter from Fleming Island, Florida, aided the Wildcats with five kills in the third period, while teammate Ktyal Price added three block assists. That allowed B-CU the 25-23 after trailing 22-21 late-on.
 
The fourth set saw the Cats hit a team match-high .438 on 15 kills against just one (1) error on 32 swings, collectively.
 
Elizabeth Phillips led the charge for the Wildcats with four kills in the fourth set, followed by Price with three kills. Bethune-Cookman used the set of Alisha Callender and Nola Hemphill to set up the offense and race to the 25-14 set win.
 
Jacksonville (5-7) erased a 5-all tie in the fifth set as Breanna McDonough collected a kill off the set of Emily Hodsdon to step ahead for good at 6-5. The Dolphins got three kills from McDonough in the decisive fifth set, as well as six other players collecting a kill each, respectively.
 
For B-CU, the match was the fifth five-set affair for the Cats this season, including the second in as many days.
 
For the Dolphins, they were led offensively on the day by McDonough's 19-kill performance, followed in double-digits by Haley Young (12), Amina Dervisevic (10) and Cami Kelsay (10). Hodsdon provided a match-high 40 assists, while libero Kristina Nika hauled in 14 digs.
 
B-CU used a team-high 13 kills from Robinson – her fourth double-digit kills tally of the campaign. She also added 12 digs to complete her first double-double of the season. Price recorded a season-high 10 kills and eight blocks (assisted). Hemphill ended with 22 assists, and Callender with 17. The defensive efforts saw three different Wildcats turn in 12 digs – Callender, Hemphill and Robinson, with all three finishing with a double-double outing. For Callender, it was her fourth of the year, and it was just the second for freshman Hemphill.
 
The Cats begin Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play next weekend when traveling to Mississippi Valley State in Itta Bena, Mississippi, on Friday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. ET.
 
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