CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State volleyball team fell to Ohio Valley Conference co-leader Austin Peay in straight sets Friday night inside the Dunn Center on the APSU campus.
All 13 eligible players on the Gamecocks' bench saw action during the match as head coach
Terry Gamble made every adjustment possible to stop a hot Governors attack. APSU completed the night with a .377 combined hitting percentage and 56 kills after hitting .485 in the first and an even .400 in the second.
Freshman
Sadie Anderson was the lone Gamecock to reach double-digit kills, finishing with 10. Meanwhile, APSU boasted three individuals with more than 10, including reigning AVCA National Player of the Week Ashley Slay's match-high 14. All 34 of JSU's kills came off sets as freshman
Rachel Perucki collected 19 assists, followed by
Shayla Schmidt with 10.
What has become a strong point for Jax State with a suffocating defense, was missing on Friday evening as the nation's leading team in blocks recorded only four. The Governors won the blocking matchip, 5-4.
The home Govs took control of the opening set early and refused to let the Gamecock back into the game. APSU opened a 10-4 lead and later 14-6. JSU was unable to climb out of the deficit as the Govs hit a powerful .485 clip as a team in the first.
Leading 15-8 in the second, APSU seemed poised to run away with another game until a 5-0 JSU run, fueled by a pair of kills from Anderson and a block from Zuhlke and Rombach, made the home team take a timeout to regroup. Out of the break, the Govs took six of the following seven points courtesy of five successful kills. Heading into intermission, APSU outhit JSU 37 kills to 18.
The third set showed a refocused JSU team as the Gamecocks took an early 7-4 advantage and then later pulled away from a 12-12 tie with a 3-0 run to force an APSU timeout. The Govs clawed back to tie things at 22, before taking the final points to win 25-23.
JSU will have a quick turnaround as it travels to Murray State tomorrow for a 2 p.m. match at Racer Arena. Live stats for the game will be available on JSUGamecockSports.com
