Friday, October 2
JACKSONVILLE
7 p.m.
Jacksonville State University
vs
Jackson State
Gamecock Volleyball Ready For Home Opener
10/1/2015 1:42:00 PM | Volleyball
JACKSONVILLE – After 19 matches away from home to open the 2015 campaign, the Jacksonville State volleyball team is finally set to play on its own court this weekend with contests against Jackson State and UT Martin.
The Gamecocks (8-11, 1-2 Ohio Valley Conference) open newly renovated Pete Mathews Coliseum on Friday night at 7 p.m., hosting Jackson State. JSU then resumes OVC play Sunday afternoon, with a match against UT Martin set for 2 p.m.
Jax State dropped a pair of matches during the opening weekend in Illinois at SIUE Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois, before bouncing back Tuesday night with a 3-1 win at Tennessee Tech.
"We played really well (at Tennessee Tech)," said second-year head coach Terry Gamble. "We had five kids with double-digit digs and when you do that you've got a chance to win any game.I was really proud of that. Offensively, our outsides finally on the same night put it all together. So I was really happy with how we played."
Senior Emily Rutherford continues to set the pace offensively with a team-best 208 kills. Sophomores Charis Ludtke and Allyson Zuhlke are next in line with 166 and 160 kills, respectively. While true freshman Mackenzie Rombach is the fourth and final Gamecock in triple figures with 119. The offensive attack is distributed by sophomore setter Jennifer Hart, who's 9.69 assists per set average ranks second-best in the conference.
Across the net, JSU also features one of the top defensive specialists in the league in Hannah Kirk. The sophomore has 267 digs for a 4.11 dig per set average. The front row of the Gamecock defense is equally impressive. Rombach leads with 45 total blocks, followed by freshman Kim Krutsinger (37) and Zuhlke (28).
"The Pete" as the Gamecocks' home facility for volleyball and basketball is nicknamed, received a major facelift over the summer. Renovations feature a new playing surface, new seating, new scorer's tables and a team video room. Construction began following the spring semester and only recently finished, making Friday night's game the first event inside since the upgrades.
"This place is beautiful," added Gamble. "I don't think if someone walked in and said 'is this the same place'? And I credit all the people who went in to help do this: our interim athletic director Greg Seitz, David Thompson, Mark Jones, just everybody that's had a part in this thing."
Aside from being the christening event for the updated facility, Friday night's match against the visiting Lady Tigers is also JSU's annual "Pink Out The Pete" night. Pink JSU volleyball shirts will be available for sale with all proceeds and donations going to support awareness and toward the fight against breast cancer. Players and coaches from both schools will sport pink gear for the game. Admission is free to all JSU home volleyball games. The JSU pep band Hardcorps, cheerleaders and Cocky will be on hand for the action.
On Sunday, Jax State returns to conference action taking on the Skyhawks of UT Martin. UTM is 2-1 to begin OVC play, currently just above JSU in the early standings. In their only meeting a year ago, the Gamecocks came away from Martin, Tenn., with a hard-fought 3-2 victory. So far in 2015, UTM is 3-4 in road contests including a 3-1 victory at Ole Miss in early September.
Live stats will be available for both matches at JSUGamecockSports.com.
The Gamecocks (8-11, 1-2 Ohio Valley Conference) open newly renovated Pete Mathews Coliseum on Friday night at 7 p.m., hosting Jackson State. JSU then resumes OVC play Sunday afternoon, with a match against UT Martin set for 2 p.m.
Jax State dropped a pair of matches during the opening weekend in Illinois at SIUE Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois, before bouncing back Tuesday night with a 3-1 win at Tennessee Tech.
"We played really well (at Tennessee Tech)," said second-year head coach Terry Gamble. "We had five kids with double-digit digs and when you do that you've got a chance to win any game.I was really proud of that. Offensively, our outsides finally on the same night put it all together. So I was really happy with how we played."
Senior Emily Rutherford continues to set the pace offensively with a team-best 208 kills. Sophomores Charis Ludtke and Allyson Zuhlke are next in line with 166 and 160 kills, respectively. While true freshman Mackenzie Rombach is the fourth and final Gamecock in triple figures with 119. The offensive attack is distributed by sophomore setter Jennifer Hart, who's 9.69 assists per set average ranks second-best in the conference.
Across the net, JSU also features one of the top defensive specialists in the league in Hannah Kirk. The sophomore has 267 digs for a 4.11 dig per set average. The front row of the Gamecock defense is equally impressive. Rombach leads with 45 total blocks, followed by freshman Kim Krutsinger (37) and Zuhlke (28).
"The Pete" as the Gamecocks' home facility for volleyball and basketball is nicknamed, received a major facelift over the summer. Renovations feature a new playing surface, new seating, new scorer's tables and a team video room. Construction began following the spring semester and only recently finished, making Friday night's game the first event inside since the upgrades.
"This place is beautiful," added Gamble. "I don't think if someone walked in and said 'is this the same place'? And I credit all the people who went in to help do this: our interim athletic director Greg Seitz, David Thompson, Mark Jones, just everybody that's had a part in this thing."
Aside from being the christening event for the updated facility, Friday night's match against the visiting Lady Tigers is also JSU's annual "Pink Out The Pete" night. Pink JSU volleyball shirts will be available for sale with all proceeds and donations going to support awareness and toward the fight against breast cancer. Players and coaches from both schools will sport pink gear for the game. Admission is free to all JSU home volleyball games. The JSU pep band Hardcorps, cheerleaders and Cocky will be on hand for the action.
On Sunday, Jax State returns to conference action taking on the Skyhawks of UT Martin. UTM is 2-1 to begin OVC play, currently just above JSU in the early standings. In their only meeting a year ago, the Gamecocks came away from Martin, Tenn., with a hard-fought 3-2 victory. So far in 2015, UTM is 3-4 in road contests including a 3-1 victory at Ole Miss in early September.
Live stats will be available for both matches at JSUGamecockSports.com.
Players Mentioned
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