JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State volleyball team heads to the Music City this weekend for a pair of Ohio Valley Conference contests against Tennessee State and Belmont.
 
Winners of four straight, and seven of their last 11 games, the Gamecocks have evened their overall record at 11-11. JSU is 2-2 in conference action, currently just two wins back of OVC-leading Murray State.
 
JSU plays Tennessee State Friday night at 7 p.m., and will remain in Nashville for a Saturday afternoon match against Belmont, scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
TSU (7-9, 2-2 OVC) sits with an identical conference mark as the Gamecocks. Last season, Jax State swept the Lady Tigers in the season series, winning in straight sets at home and claiming a five-set victory in Tennessee. The Gamecocks weren't as fortunate a year ago in games against Belmont (6-9, 3-1 OVC). The Bruins won both 2014 contests, and will be a tough challenge once again this time around.  
 
The road trip features a pair of strong defensive opponents. Belmont and Tennessee State rank first and third in league games for lowest opponent hitting percentages at .149 and .172, respectively. Serves will also be key throughout the weekend. Belmont is currently the second-best OVC team in service aces, while TSU is next in line in third.
 
Jax State senior Emily Rutherford will once again play a key role on both sides of the net. She leads the offense hitting .239 with a team-high 237 kills, and has the second most digs with 216. Sophomore Charis Ludtke has 207 kills, while reigning OVC Offensive Player of the Week, Allyson Zuhlke, is two shy of the 200 mark, with 198.
 
On the defensive side, JSU leads the OVC in blocks per set averaging 2.40 a game. True freshmen Mackenzie Rombach and Kim Krutsinger lead up front with a combined 96 total blocks. The back row, led by sophomore libero Hannah Kirk, averages 17.33 digs per set; an average better than both TSU (15.17) and Belmont (13.88). 
 
Live stats are available for both matches at JSUGamecockSports.com.