RICHMOND, Ky. – The Jacksonville State volleyball team fell on the road in five sets (26-24, 22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 11-15) to a surging Eastern Kentucky squad that's now won three straight at home.
The Gamecocks (17-14 (5-6 Ohio Valley Conference) fall below .500 in league for the first time this season. Even in with the recent slide, JSU remains two games ahead of the cut line to miss the postseason tournament, and will have a chance to gain ground on Saturday facing Morehead State who sits just ahead in the standings.
JSU has been plagued by the deciding fifth set this season, dropping six of eight matches that have gone five. On Friday night, a .100 hitting clip and four kills wasn't enough to bring home the final frame.
Junior
Allyson Zuhlke's third 20-kill performance of the season led the way for Jax State's offense. Sophomore
Mackenzie Rombach added 12 kills and a .458 clip from the middle as the leading defending carried a large portion of the offense in Richmond.
Freshman
Rachel Perucki recorded 34 assists in the setback to notch a double-double with 11 digs. Junior libero
Hannah Kirk had the most digs with 18, continuing her role as a team leader.
EKU (11-12, 6-5 OVC) jumped out to 1 5-1 advantage in the opening set before Rombach's kill ended the streak. JSU tied the set at 10, but later trailed 16-19 with the Colonels nearing a 1-0 lead. JSU evened the game again, 21-21. Freshman
Sadie Anderson had a pair of late kills to help JSU secure a 26-24 win, matching its largest lead of the set at two.
Trailing 16-22 in the second, JSU made a 6-2 run to close with 22-24, but EKU won it on a kill by Celina Sanks who finished with a match-best 22 kills. Then in the third, the Gamecocks let another late tie, 23-23, slip away with a couple of costly errors.
The Gamecocks bounced back to take the fourth, 25-23, holding on to what was at one point a five-point advantage to force the decisive fifth set. In the final frame the Colonels were too much taking a commanding 9-3 lead to start. JSU made a final push, but came up short, 15-11.
JSU continues its Bluegrass State tour on Saturday with a 2 p.m. match at Morehead State. The contest will be streamed on the OVC Digital Network. Links to video and stat feeds can be found at jsugamecocksports.com.
