MURRAY, Ky. – The Jacksonville State volleyball team became the latest victim of Racer Arena as Murray State defeated JSU (20-25, 17-25, 22-25) en route to its 21st consecutive home match victory.  
 
The Gamecocks (16-11, 5-3 Ohio Valley Conference), fell to a Murray State team that's proven to become a power within the conference. The Racers, 2015 OVC regular-season champions, have now won 39 of their last 44 regular season OVC matches. MSU recorded at least 15 kills in each of the three sets.
 
Junior Charis Ludtke finished with eight kills for JSU hitting .300 for the match. Sophomore Mackenzie Rombach posted a .571 mark with five kills on just seven swings. Freshman Shayla Schmidt dished a team-best 11 assists.
 
Rombach was again key on the defensive side of the net as well, recording five of JSU's eight total blocks. The Ottawa, Ill., native passed Kelby Rumph (1997) for the third-most single-season blocks in JSU history. Her current tally of 132 blocks could potentially be leading the nation for a second week following the weekend's action.
 
JSU called timeout in the first after the Racers went ahead, 10-6. That margin would remain consistent throughout the first game as the Gamecocks trailed at 22-18 and later fell 25-20. In the second, MSU pulled away from a 4-4 tie early to build at one point a nine-point lead before winning the set 25-17.
 
JSU gave the Racers their best game in the third set, as the Gamecocks hit their game-best .292. A 3-0 run evened things up at 15. The two went back-and-forth until MSU pulled out to a 23-20 advantage forcing JSU's final timeout. The Gamecocks staved off two match-points before falling 25-22.
 
JSU will travel for its final non-conference match of the season on Tuesday when it visits Mississippi Valley State. The Gamecocks return home next weekend to host OVC foes Eastern Illinois and SIU-Edwardsville.