Box Score

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Eastern Kentucky University beat Jacksonville, 3-1, on Thursday to advance to the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament semifinals.
 
The Colonels will play No. 1 seed Florida Gulf Coast in the ASUN Tournament semifinals on Friday at 8 p.m. ET at Alico Arena.  EKU beat the Eagles, 3-0, in Richmond on Oct. 13.
 
Junior middle blocker Carson Ledford led EKU (21-9) with 12 kills and nine blocks.  She hit .429 and served up one ace.  Senior Kambree Lucas contributed 10 kills, 15 digs, three blocks and one ace.  Setter Emilee Hill finished with nine kills, 28 assists, 19 digs and three blocks.
 
EKU won by scores of 25-15, 20-25, 25-20 and 25-14.
 
The Colonels started hot, scoring nine of the first 10 points to start the match and force a JU timeout.  A block by AG Vandagriff and Ledford made it 9-1.  EKU went up 13-4 on a kill from Paige Wagers.  Starting with an ace from Ledford, the Colonels scored the final three points to take the set 25-15.  Wagers and Vandagriff had a block and Lucas finished it with a kill.
 
A kill from Vandagriff gave EKU an 11-10 lead in the second set before the Dolphins went on a big run.  JU used an 8-1 spurt to turn that 1-point deficit into a 6-point lead.  Claire Mrukowski finished off the run with a kill for an 18-12 advantage.  A run of four straight allowed the Colonels to cut an 8-point deficit in half.  A block from Sarah Mitchell and Ledford made it 22-18.  However, moments later Breanna McDonough finished off the set with a kill, 25-20, and tied the match.
 
The Colonels scored the first four points of the third set, but the Dolphins came right back and scored three straight.  The set remained within a 1-point margin until Jacksonville broke a 13-13 tie with two straight points.  A block from Haley Yount and Emily Hodsdon made it 15-13 going into the media timeout.  EKU scored three straight out of the timeout, tying it on a block from Wagers and Hill, and then taking a 16-15 lead on a JU attack error.  A kill from Wagers, an ace from Josie Schmitendorf and another attack error put the Colonels ahead 21-18.  EKU took the set, 25-20, on a kill from Ledford.
 
After Cami Kelsay used a kill to get Jacksonville within one, 13-12, in the fourth set, the Colonels scored six straight to pull away.  Hill had back-to-back kills to make it 17-12.  Freshman Cooper Abney finished it and put her squad ahead 19-12 with a setter dump.  Another kill from Hill pushed it to an 8-point lead 22-14.  Two straight JU attack errors ended the set, 25-14, and closed out the match.
 
McDonough had a match-high 13 kills for Jacksonville (15-14). 
 
Both teams finished with 13 blocks.  EKU hit .238 while the Dolphins posted a .133 attack percentage.  The Colonels came up with 82 digs while Jacksonville had just 68.