JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State volleyball team dropped its final home match of the 2015 season, 3-1, to Tennessee Tech Tuesday night.
 
The Gamecocks (13-20, 4-11 Ohio Valley Conference) were unable to shut down one of the top players in the league as Tennessee Tech (8-20, 6-9 OVC) senior Cody Dodd finished with a match-best 23 kills.
 
Senior Emily Rutherford closed out her final game in Pete Mathews Coliseum with a team-high 17 kills and 11 digs in yet another double-double performance. Sophomore Charis Ludtke also finished strong with 14 kills and 12 digs.
 
Overall, five Gamecocks finished with double-digit digs led by sophomore libero Hannah Kirk, who had 17. Sophomore Jennifer Hart and freshman Ashley Clingan each had 11. Hart dished 44 assists on the offensive side.
 
Freshman Mackenzie Rombach had nine kills, three digs and two blocks in a solid outing needing to protect a larger-than-normal hole at the middle position.
 
After falling behind 7-1 to start the match, JSU tied the opening set at 13. Later evened at 21-21, The Gamecocks caught an unfortunate break on a close call. TTU went on to take the first set, 25-21.
 
The Golden Eagles were back strong in the second posting a .409 attack percentage while JSU struggled to get much going. An 8-2 stretch for TTU gave the visitors a 10-point advantage at 20-10. JSU would fall 25-13, heading into intermission down two games to one.
 
Jax State responded positively in the third taking the set 25-20. The Gamecocks broke away from a 7-7 deadlock, but never led by more than a couple of poins. Rombach added a pair o kills in the closing points to secure the set victory, sending the game to a fourth frame.
 
In the fourth, the Golden Eagles took a quick 7-3 lead and the Gameocks were never able to come back from the deficit. JSU came with two at 13-11, but TTU finished on a 12-6 run to win the match.
 
JSU will close out the 2015 season Saturday afternoon on the road at Southeast Missouri. The game will be streamed on the OVC Digital Network while live stats will also be available at JSUGamecockSports.com.