JACKSONVILLE – Junior Brittney Whitten and sophomore Caitlin Vorbeck each knocked down 15 kills to lift the Jacksonville State volleyball team to a 3-2 win over Auburn at Pete Mathews Coliseum on Tuesday night.

 

Whitten, an outside hitter from Boonville, Ind., recorded her third-straight double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs. She hit .250 in the match, while Vorbeck, a native of Raytown, Mo., hit .225 in her 15-kill effort. The Gamecocks (2-2) picked up 86 digs in the match to limit the Tigers (0-4) to a .171 attack percentage and hand them their first loss in five meetings in the all-time series.

 

“This was a good win,” JSU head coach Rick Nold said. “We had two young teams going at each other tonight and we saw a lot of ups and downs. To be able to pull out and get the win in the end says a lot about this team.”

 

The Gamecocks took the first game of the match, 25-20 and swapped wins from that point. The Tigers claimed a 25-17 win in game two before JSU pulled back ahead with a 25-18 game three win. Auburn's 25-22 win in the fourth game pushed a fifth and deciding set, on the Gamecocks would never trail in en route to a 15-13 triumph.

 

Sophomore Brooke Schumacher set up the JSU attack with 44 assists, while freshman Lauren Harkins' 17 digs led the Gamecock defensive effort.

 

The Tigers were led on offense by Jessica Glover's 15 kills and 44 assists from Sara Shanks. Glover also recorded a double-double with 16 digs to lead four Tigers in double digits.

 

The Gamecocks will be at home this weekend, when they host the Inaugural Gamecock Invitational. They will play twice on Friday, facing Creighton at 11 a.m. and Ole Miss at 7 p.m., before wrapping up the weekend with a 2 p.m. match against UAB on Saturday. Admission is free to all matches.