JACKSONVILLE – For the second time in three matches, the Jacksonville State volleyball team overcame a 2-1 match deficit to win in five, defeating Tennessee State Saturday afternoon in a critical Ohio Valley Conference game.
 
Senior Day at JSU (14-19, 4-10 OVC) started off with a special pregame ceremony recognizing the program's three outgoing seniors, and ended with just as many cheers as the Gamecocks capped a furious comeback to beat TSU (13-13, 8-6 OVC).
 
"I'm very happy about this win," said head coach Terry Gamble. "And I am so proud of the way our players fought through to the finish. It took a team effort today, and they showed a lot of heart in going out to get that win."
 
Sophomore Allyson Zuhlke turned in a double-double performance with a team-high 16 kills to go along with 10 digs. Senior Emily Rutherford stepped up on her big day with 14 kills on a .364 attack percentage. Her 11 digs gave the Georgetown, Texas, native her 46^th career double-double. Sophomore Charis Ludtke was the final Gamecock in double figures with 10 kills.
 
Sophomore Jennifer Hart dished 46 of the team's 53 total assists, pushing the setter from Davidson, N.C., over 1,000 assists on the season for the second-consecutive year.
 
Across the net, sophomore Hannah Kirk dug-out 19 attacks to lead the defense. Hart and Rutherford each finished with 11 digs. Freshman Kim Krutsinger was clutch in several key situations and finished the day with three solo blocks. Fellow freshman Mackenzie Rombach also finished with three blocks and added seven kills.
 
For the first time all season, JSU's trio of seniors all started on the same day. The first [point of the match went to Jax State on a kill be Laney Torkelson. Later on down by three in the first set, a 4-0 run moved JSU out in front, 12-11. The Gamecocks made it a 19-14 advantage before the visiting Tigers began to crawl back. An error by JSU cut the margin to one, 22-21, when back-to-back kills from Rutherford secured the opening frame.
 
After boasting a .367 attack percentage in the opening set, JSU failed to hit better than .167 in either of the following two sets. TSU hit a match-high .548 in the second and a strong .359 in the third to take both sets and a 2-1 lead.
 
The Gamecocks looked ready to send the match to a fifth set following Zuhlke's kill to make it 21-11 in the fourth. However, the Tigers mounted an 8-0 run, assisted by a couple of JSU errors, to cut the lead to 21-19. Ludtke came up with the crucial kill to break the streak, and the Gamecocks held on for a 25-23 win.
 
The Tigers took a 2-0 lead to begin the final set, but Jax State would not be denied on this day. The Gamecocks took the lead, 4-3. Then leading 9-8, JSU finished on a 6-1 run to seal the match.
 
Jax State's dramatic win keeps their OVC Tournament chances alive. At 4-10, JSU is tied for ninth in the league, and has two final games to move up into the eight-team playoff field. The Gamecocks will go for their third win in four games on Tuesday night when Tennessee Tech visits for the final home match of the season at Pete Mathews Coliseum.